
GlasstLll_l 

Book 

Copyright N°_ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



PRINCIPLES AND 
ORGANIZATION 

OF THE YOUNG MEN'S 
CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION 



WILLIAM D. MURRAY 

Vice Chairman International 
Committee 



NEW YORK . YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN 
ASSOCIATION PRESS . NINETEEN HUNDRED TEN 



j{ 



1 



.^ 



Copyright, 1910, by 

The International Committee of Young Men 1 

Christian Associations 



©CI.A268781 



PREFACE 

These Studies in the principles and methods of the 
Young- Men's Christian Association are substantially 
the lectures which the author has been giving at the 
annual Association Institute held at Silver Bay. They 
do not pretend to be more than outlines, and those 
by whom they may be used ought to supplement them 
by observation of the actual work of the Association. 
To see a thing done is worth much more than to read 
about it. 

The author wishes to express his obligations to Mr. 
Lyman L. Pierce, an experienced General Secretary, 
who furnished the original outline and suggestions 
upon which these lectures are based. 

Wm. D. Murray. 

New York. 



Lesson 


I. 


Principles 


: Our Basis 


7 


Lesson 


II. 


Principles 


: Our Basis . 


18 


Lesson 


III. 


Principles 


: Our Aim . 


28 


Lesson 


IV. 


Methods : 


The Field 


3* 


Lesson 


V. 


Methods : 


Supervising Agencies . 


53 


Lesson 


VI. 


Methods : 


Boards 


65 


Lesson 


VII. 


Methods : 


Committees . 


73 


Lesson 


VIII. 


Methods : 


Membership 


80 


Lesson 


IX. 


Methods : 


The Employed Officer . 


9i 


Lesson 


X. 


Methods : 


The Employed Officer . 


IOI 


Bibliography , 






109 


Appendix — Model Constitution . 


in 


Index 








123 



PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 
OF THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRIS- 
TIAN ASSOCIATION 



Principles : Our Basis 



LESSON I. THE PARIS BASIS AND EVAN- 
GELICAL TEST 

In taking up the study of the principles and methods 
of the work of the Young Men's Christian Association 
it is necessary to note the distinction between princi- 
ples and methods; the former are permanent and fun- 
damental ; the latter vary with the time and place. It 
is exceedingly important therefore to understand the 
basal principles upon which, as upon a rock founda- 
tion, the Association stands. 



8 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

The aim of the first Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion, organized in London in 1844, was to improve the 
spiritual condition of certain young men, a purpose 
which they sought to accomplish by meetings for 
prayer and Bible study. So it is clear that in the very 
beginning this movement sought to reach the spiritual 
nature of young men. This purpose has been kept pre- 
eminent in the work and growth of the British organi- 
zation. It was equally the initial purpose of the North 
American Associations and when, owing to sugges- 
tions from London, the first Association in the United 
States was formed in 1851, what has since been known 
as the evangelical test of membership was adopted, 
providing that active, voting members must be mem- 
bers of evangelical churches. This Boston precedent 
was followed by the great majority of the early North 
American Associations. [This subject is treated at 
length on pages 11 and following under Evangelical 
Test.] In the subsequent growth of the Association 
movement this central spiritual purpose has been af- 
firmed and reaffirmed by two great declarations which 
have been incorporated into the very fabric of the 
Young Men's Christian Association: (1) The Paris 
Basis (1855, I 9°5 an d 1907); ( 2 ) The Evangelical 
Test (1868-9). Upon the principles which the Asso- 
ciations embodied in these declarations rest the Young 
Men's Christian Associations of to-day. 

1. The Paris Basis 

It reads as follows : 

"The Young Mens Christian Associations seek to 



PRINCIPLES: OUR BASIS g 

unite those young men who, regarding Jesus Christ 
as their God and Saviour, according to the Holy 
Scriptures, desire to be His disciples, in their doctrine 
and in their life, and to associate their efforts for the 
extension of His kingdom among young men." 

This has been called "The Apostles' Creed" of the 
Young Men's Christian Association. 

In the convention held at Paris in 1855 R- ev - Abel 
Stevens, an American delegate from New York, in 
proposing an alliance of the Young Men's Christian 
Associations of the world, said that it was in the 
power of that conference to place on a permanent basis 
the work of the Associations, and he therefore of- 
fered a resolution which followed the American test 
of 1 85 1, and provided "that the Associations should 
be managed by members of evangelical churches." 
After some discussion M. Frederick Monnier, of 
Strasburg, a layman, offered the resolution quoted 
above, the Paris Basis. 

"On returning from Paris the delegates from North 
America made report to their third international con- 
vention, held in 1856. This convention heartily rati- 
fied the basis as an admirable definition of the spirit 
and qualification which should characterize active 
members in all lands. While recognizing that in 
Europe the ecclesiastical feature of the American 
test was not practicable, the convention could not find 
in the Paris Basis a substitute for this test, because it 
lacked that recognition and acceptance of church mem- 
bership which was fundamental in the American test. 
Indeed, by this recognition the American associations 



io PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

avoided what would here have been considered the re- 
proach of formulating and enforcing a new creed of 
their own, a creed which would give the misleading 
impression of their having formed another denomina- 
tion."* 

As must always be the case with a growing organi- 
zation, different men have held, from time to time, 
different views as to the usefulness of the Paris Basis. 
In the present transition period in the religious world 
it is only natural that men should differ on such a sub- 
ject as this. But the Basis has survived all attacks, 
and after fifty years of trial, at the beginning of this 
new century, it was reaffirmed. 

At the Jubilee World's Conference, held at Paris 
in 1905, Prince Bernadotte, of Sweden, presented the 
jubilee declaration, which read, in part: 

Consequently the conference solemnly reaffirms 
the Basis adopted in Paris in 1855, as follows : 

Alliance of Young Men's Christian Associations 

The delegates of various Young Men's Christian 
Associations of Europe and America, assembled in 
conference at Paris the 2 2d of August, 1855, feeling 
that they are one in principle and in operation, recom- 
mend to their respective societies to recognize zuith 
them the unity existing among their Associations, and 
while preserving a complete independence as to their 
particular organization and modes of action, to form 



*Morse, Relation to the Churches, p. 12. 



PRINCIPLES: OUR BASIS n 

a Confederation on the following fundamental princi- 
ple, such principle to be regarded as the basis of ad- 
mission of other societies in future: 

The Young Men's Christian Associations seek 
to unite those young men who, regarding Jesus 
Christ as their God and Saviour, according to 
the Holy Scriptures, desire to be His disciples, in 
their doctrine and in their life, and to associ- 
ate their efforts for the extension of hls king- 
dom among young men. 

The conference also declared that this Basis em- 
bodies, with other fundamental principles, the follow- 
ing: 

1. Personal and vital Christianity on the part of 
the members. 

2. The spirit of evangelical alliance, according to 
John xvii, 21. 

3. The activity and responsibility of the members 
in effort for the extension of the kingdom of God 
among young men. 

After fifty years of discussion it was found neces- 
sary to change not a single word in the original reso- 
lution. 

2. The Evangelical Test 

The Evangelical Test, or Portland Resolution, as it 
is sometimes called, reads as follows : 

"That as these organizations bear the name of Chris- 
tian and profess to be engaged directly in the Saviour's 
service, so it is clearly their duty to maintain the con- 



12 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

trol and management of all their affairs in the hands 
of those who profess to love and publicly avow their 
faith in Jesus, the Redeemer, as divine, and who testify 
their faith by becoming and remaining members of 
churches held to be evangelical, and that such persons, 
and none others, should be allowed to vote or hold 
officer 

The history of this document is briefly as follows : 

The first Association in the United States was 
formed in Boston in 185 1. After much deliberation 
they inserted in their constitution the following article 
on membership : 

''Section 1. Active Members. Any young man who 
is a member in regular standing of an evangelical 
church may become a member of this association by 
the payment of $ annually. Active members only 
shall have the right to vote and be eligible to office. 

"Sec. 2. Associate Members. Any young man of 
good moral character may become a member of this 
association by the payment of $ annually, and shall 
be entitled to all the privileges of the association, 
eligibility to office and the right to vote only excepted." 

As new associations were organized many of them 
copied this Boston constitution, but some did not. 

In its report to the convention of 1867, at Mon- 
treal, the International Committee suggested that "The 
Associations should be controlled by Christian men and 
the whole of their officers selected from members of 
Evangelical Churches." 

And later in the convention the following resolution 
was adopted : 



PRINCIPLES: OUR BASIS 13 

"That hereafter the delegates to the annual conven- 
tion of the Young Men's Christian Associations of the 
United States and British Provinces be selected from 
the list of active members only of the various associa- 
tions represented." 

At the same convention a resolution was introduced 
and referred to the Committee on Associations, which 
read as follows: 

"Resolved, That the Committee on Associations be 
instructed to consider the following question and to 
report: Should the active membership of Young 
Men's Christian Associations be limited to communi- 
cants of Evangelical Churches ?" 

The report of the International Committee was sub- 
mitted to the convention of 1868, at Detroit, by Cephas 
Brr.inerd, and read in part as follows: 

"X. The Committee submits to the convention the 
following suggestions and questions, and asks action 
upon them : 

2. That a resolution be adopted by the convention 
to the effect that membership in good standing of an 
Evangelical Church, should be the unvarying test of 
active membership in the Young Men's Christian 
Association." 

This was acted upon by the Committee on Interna- 
tional Committee's Report, and the following sub- 
mitted : 

'Tn respect to that portion of the report which bears 
upon the test of active membership in the Associations, 



14 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

the Committee recommend the following resolutions 
for adoption : 

"Resolved, That, as these organizations bear the 
name of Christian, and profess to be engaged directly 
in the Saviour's service, so it is clearly their duty to 
maintain the control and management of all their af- 
fairs, in the hands of those who profess to love and 
publicly avow their faith in Jesus, the Redeemer, as 
divine, and who testify their faith by becoming and 
remaining members of churches held to be Evangelical, 
and that such persons, and none others, should be al- 
lowed to vote or hold office. 

"Resolved, That the Executive Committee and the 
Corresponding members are hereby instructed to em- 
ploy all proper means to secure the adoption of this 
test of active membership by all Associations, and es- 
pecially to secure its incorporation in the most perma- 
nent form in the Constitutions of all Associations that 
may hereafter be formed. 

"Your Committee do not in the resolutions now sub- 
mitted design any criticism upon any of the Associa- 
tions now established, nor would they urge any with- 
out careful and prayerful consideration to seek a.modi- 
fkation of their Constitutions in this respect ; but they 
believe that it is the duty of this Convention to make 
a distinct declaration of opinion in this particular, and 
to instruct its own agents in regard to the same as to 
their future action as the organs of the Convention." 

It will thus be seen that the Evangelical Test was 
formally enunciated by the Detroit Convention in 
1868 : it remained for the Convention of 1869, at Port- 



PRINCIPLES: OUR BASIS 15 

land, Ale., to make this declaration a test of admis- 
sion to the brotherhood and a condition of representa- 
tion at its conventions. 

In its report to this convention the International 
Committee asked the action of the convention upon 
the following: 

"Reiteration of the resolution adopted at Detroit in 
regard to the test of active membership, and the adop- 
tion of some stringent instructions to the agents of 
the convention in regard to the organization of any 
associations upon a basis other than that so approved." 

The convention thereupon adopted the following 
resolution : 

"Resolved, That this Convention reaffirms the reso- 
lution adopted at the Detroit Convention, on the quali- 
fications for active membership in the Associations, 
and also the resolution of instructions, both of its 
agents and representatives, respecting the same, and 
requests those whose views are not in accordance 
therewith to resign the positions they % hold under the 
authority of this Convention." 

The question having been raised as to what consti- 
tuted an Evangelical Church, the matter was referred to 
a special committee, which later brought in the follow- 
ing definition, which was accepted by the convention : 

"And we. hold those churches to be evangelical 
which, maintaining the Holy Scriptures to be the only 
infallible rule of faith and practice, do believe in the 
Lord Jesus Christ (the only begotten of the Father, 
King of kings, and Lord of lords, in whom dwell eth 
all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and who was 



16 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

made sin for us, though knowing no sin, bearing our 
sins in His own body on the tree) as the only name 
under heaven given among men whereby zve mast be 
saved from everlasting punishment, and unto life 
eternal!' 

This convention also made this Test a basis of rep- 
resentation in future conventions by adopting the fol- 
lowing resolution : 

"That associations organized after this date shall be 
entitled to representation in future conferences of the 
associated Young Men's Christian Association of 
North America upon condition that they be severally 
composed of young men in communion with evan- 
gelical churches (provided that in places where asso- 
ciations are formed by a single denomination mem- 
bers of other denominations are not excluded there- 
from), and active membership and the right to hold 
office be conferred only upon young men who are 
members in good standing in evangelical churches/' 

To define the extension of this test to association 
branches, the Philadelphia convention in 1889 de- 
clared : 

"That the principle of representation in the interna- 
tional convention now prevailing be extended so as to 
apply to and include all departments or branches of as- 
sociations organized after this date, provided, also, 
that in all such branches or departments the commit- 
tee of management shall be composed of men members 
of good standing in evangelical churches." 

The scope of the Test was finally extended to the 
foreign associations under the supervision of the Inter- 



PRINCIPLES: OUR BASIS 17 

national Committee by the following resolution 
adopted by the Kansas City Convention in 189 1 : 

'That the test of active membership in all foreign 
associations working under the supervision of the 
International Committee, be the Portland Test, the 
same as in force in this country." 

The State organizations embodied the Evangelical 
Test in their constitutions. 

For example, the Constitution of the New Jersey 
State Executive Committee reads as follows, in part: 
"Each Young Men's Christian Association having an 
active membership in accordance with the provisions 
of Article VII, and each branch thereof may become 
a member of the State Association/' 

Article VII makes admission to membership de- 
pendent upon the condition : 

"That the active membership of such association be 
composed of young men who conform to the Evan- 
gelical Test as defined by the International Conven- 
tion of the Young Men's Christian Association." 

In some States the Evangelical Test is made a pre- 
requisite to incorporation. 

In New York State the statute requires the certifi- 
cate of incorporation to state "the qualifications re- 
quired for active membership ; . . . which quali- 
fications . . , shall conform to the general rules 
and regulations of and shall be approved by the State 
Executive Committee." 

(Laws of N. Y., 1905, ch. 320.) 

This of course has nothing to do with associations 
which are not incorporated. 



Principles: Our Basis 



LESSON II. THE PARIS BASIS AND EVAN- 
GELICAL TEST.— {Continued.) 

For several years there has been more or less dis- 
cussion of the Test. This was natural and to be ex- 
pected. It is due to the times in which we live, when 
theological questions are being discussed anew, and 
also to the growth of the Association movement and 
its extension among different classes of young men. 

During the year preceding the Washington Con- 
vention, 1907, this discussion assumed such propor- 
tions that the International Committee, following the 
precedent of former years, called attention to it in its 
report to that convention. They said : "The Committee 
has received several memorials from student and city 
associations, and from State committees, urging that 
this question be brought to the Washington convention 
for consideration. Some of these memorials urge such 
a change in the basis as will include all churches that 
are in sympathy with the purpose of the association, 
even though not ordinarily classed as 'evangelical/ 
while others recommend that the basis remain un- 
changed." 

18 



PRINCIPLES: OUR BASIS 19 

This report was referred to a committee of seven 
representative Association men,* who sat almost con- 
tinuously during- the convention listening to all who 
desired to be heard. As a result of these deliberations 
they reported certain resolutions to the convention, 
and after thorough debate the following were 
adopted : 

"Resolved, That this Convention reaffirm that vital 
and fundamental relation of the North American As- 
sociations to the Evangelical churches which was de- 
clared by the Conventions of 1868 and 1869: 

' 'That as these organisations bear the name of 
Christian and profess to be engaged directly in the 
Saviour's service, so it is clearly their duty to main- 
tain the control and management of all their affairs 
in the hands of those who profess to loz p e and publicly 
avozu their faith in Jesus, the Redeemer, as Divine, and 
who testify their faith by becoming and remaining 
members of churches held to be Evangelical ; and that 
such persons, and none others, shoidd be allowed to 
vote or hold office. And we hold those churches to be 
Evangelical which, maintaining the Holy Scriptures 
to be the only infallible rule of faith and practice, do 
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (the only Son of the 
Father, King of kings, and Lord of lords, in whom 
dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and who 
was made sin for us, though knozving no sin, bearing 
our sins in His own body on the tree), as the only 



*E. I. Bosworth, G. K. Shurtleff, John Penman, E. B. 
Sturges, D. Chauncey Brewer, L. W. Messer and T. J. 
Gillespie. 



20 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

name under Heaven given among men, whereby we 
must be saved from everlasting punishment and unto 
life eternal/ 

"This relation has from the beginning, been an es- 
sential factor in the steady growth of the Associations 
and in the confidence reposed in them by the Christian 
community. 

"In view of the memorials presented by a committee 
of fifteen leaders of Evangelical churches in confer- 
ence with the Student Committee of the International 
Committee, and by 200 student delegates, and in rec- 
ognition of the fact that college organizations are 
properly differentiated from the Associations at large 
because of the brief duration of college residence, the 
objection to joining a church in the college town, the 
desirability of enlisting these men at once in Christian 
work, and the danger that men once interested in serv- 
ice will lapse if refused Association privileges : 

"Resolved, That Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tions for students shall be entitled to representation at 
future International Conventions, whose active mem- 
bership shall be restricted to students and members 
of faculties who are either members of Evangelical 
churches or accept Jesus Christ as He is offered in 
the Holy Scriptures as their God and Saviour and ap- 
prove the objects of the Association, which are as fol- 
lows : To lead students to become disciples of Jesus 
Christ as their Divine Lord and Saviour, to lead them 
to join the church, to promote growth in Christian 
faith and character, and to enlist them in Christian 
service. Only active members shall have the right to 



PRINCIPLES: OUR BASIS 21 

vote, and only active members who are members of 
Evangelical churches shall be eligible for office. 

"Resolved, That representation in International 
Conventions shall be based upon the number of active 
members who are members of Evangelical churches, 
and that only such members shall represent Associa- 
tions in International Conventions." 

Feeling that there was a desire for the rephrasing 
of the definition of evangelical, the Convention in- 
structed the president of the Convention to arrange 
for a commission of fifteen to consider this question, 
and if they deemed it expedient, to recommend a sub- 
stitute to the next International Convention as an al- 
ternate to the Portland Basis, "which shall in no way 
weaken the statement regarding the value and place of 
the Holy Scriptures and the Deity of Jesus Christ, our 
Lord and Saviour." 

It will be seen that this test and definition require 
that active members of the Association, those who are 
entrusted with the control of its affairs, shall be men 
who as members of churches believe in the divinity of 
our Lord, the inspiration of the Scriptures and salva- 
tion through Jesus Christ alone. 

It is too soon yet to determine what the effect of 
the change in the Test will have upon the student asso- 
ciations.* 



*Constitution suggested for Student Associations by Illi- 
nois State Committee : 

Article III. Membership 

Section 1. The general membership of this Association 
shall consist of men of good moral character, either students 
or members of the faculty of this institution, who desire to 



22 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

How the Paris Basis Differs from the Evangel- 
ical Test 

In its report to the Washington Convention (1907) 
the International Committee, after calling attention to 
the discussion which was going on, said : 

"The following alternate statement of the Evangel- 
ical Basis has been suggested to the Committee, and 
seems worthy of special consideration, since it com- 
bines the Paris Basis with the most essential portion 
of the Portland Basis : 'The Young Men's Christian 
Associations seek to unite those young men who, re- 
garding Jesus Christ as their God and Saviour, ac- 
cording to the Holy Scriptures, desire to be His dis- 
ciples in their doctrine and in their life, and to asso- 
ciate their efforts for the extension of His Kingdom 
among young men, and the right to representation in 
the International Conventions is restricted to those 
Associations in which active membership (including 
the right to vote and hold office) is limited to men, 
members in good standing in evangelical churches 
holding these fundamental truths." 

co-operate in furthering the objects of the Association and 
who have been elected by a two-thirds vote of the members 
present at any meeting. 

Section 2. The active membership shall consist of men of 
this institution desiring to co-operate in furthering the objects 
set forth in Article II, who are members in good standing 
of an evangelical church, who agree to participate in some 
form of active Christian service, and who have been elected 
by a two-thirds vote of the members present at any regular 
meeting. Only active members shall have the right to vote 
and hold office. 



PRINCIPLES: OUR BASIS 23 

No action was taken in reference to this suggestion. 

It will be seen that the Portland Test puts the burden 
on the Church and relieves the Association. If the 
Church decides that a man's belief is such that he can 
become a member of it, the Association asks no state- 
ment from him. On the other hand, the Paris Basis 
is in a sense a creed : it must be subscribed to by the 
individual himself. 

It has always been thought wise not to formulate 
an Association creed of any kind. 

Many reasons might be given why the Evangelical 
test has won the approval of the brotherhood. 

One of the foreign secretaries of the International 
Committee reporting concerning the work of the Asso- 
ciation in the Japanese Army in 1905, said: "The 
Buddhists have established clubs in imitation of ours. 
Materially they are quite as well supplied as ours, but 
in attendance their branches seem everywhere to fall 
behind ours. They have no gospel message or gospel 
fire, and this is what men after all most 
appreciate." 

So also does the experience of the Young Women's 
Christian Associations throw light on the subject. 
Soon after the formation of the first Young Men's 
Christian Associations a movement started among 
young women, but they were unable to agree that such 
a test was necessary to success. Consequently two 
national bodies were formed, one composed of associa- 
tions with the evangelical test, the other without it; 
although the latter was the older organization, the 
former gradually surpassed it in effectiveness until in 



24 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

1906 the two bodies formed a union on the evangelical 
basis. 

In like manner when the first association was formed 
in Boston, those who did not realize the fundamental 
need of this active membership test organized the 
Christian Brethren, without any such text. This 
organization still exists, but not outside Boston; the 
Young Men's Christian Association has filled the 
world with its branches. 

So also in countries where the Young Men's Chris- 
tian Association has been organized without this test, 
the local societies have been the rendezvous for men 
of all sorts of beliefs, thus alienating the members of 
churches, and in such circumstances there has been 
nothing like the prosperity we have seen in America. 

"The associations have been in a high degree united, 
have carried on an extensive work, both at home and 
abroad, and the basis of their unity and effective co- 
operation has really been and must continue to be 
their recognition of the divine Lordship of Jesus 
Christ. The personality of Jesus Christ is so signifi- 
cant as to make relationship to him the most signifi- 
cant, fundamental, and, therefore, unifying fact of 
human experience. If two persons agree in recogniz- 
ing the divine Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Saviour, 
that fact is sufficient to bind them together, no matter 
in what other points they disagree."* 

In the model constitution suggested by the Inter- 
national Committee as the proper form to be used, a 



♦Working Together, p. 17. 



PRINCIPLES: OUR BASIS 25 

clause is inserted, providing that the requirement that 
voting members must be members of Evangelical 
churches shall "not be altered or repealed without the 
unanimous consent of the association." (Article IX.) 

The Chicago Constitution reads : "The provisions of 
this constitution by which none but members in good 
standing of evangelical churches may become active 
members, as before mentioned, shall never be an- 
nulled; and no amendment to this constitution shall 
be made which would allow the provisions to be an- 
nulled." 

Some Associations have abandoned it, giving the 
voting power to all members of the Association 
whether church members or not. In some instances 
at least this has been a matter of expediency, not of 
principle. A particular Association has been desirous 
of securing the support of some individual or indi- 
viduals in its community who could not qualify for 
active membership. But, as a rule, the Associations 
which have departed from the Evangelical Test for 
any such reason have not prospered, and almost all 
that now survive do so because they realized that they 
were adrift and came back to the safe anchorage 
of this test. 

Speaking of the two sorts of Associations Richard 
C. Morse has said: 

"As a result of this experiment and experience on 
the entire association field during the years from 1870 
to 1890, the Evangelical Test associations obtained 
secretaries and buildings and an associate membership 
more numerous than their active membership. They 



26 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

thus secured men ready to consecrate their lives to the 
work, money needed for equipment and administration, 
and, above all, they enrolled in their associate mem- 
bership the young men who were the chief objective 
of their efforts. Associations on other tests obtained 
neither buildings nor secretaries nor the membership 
they sought most to enlist. They disappeared either 
by disbanding or by reorganizing on the evangelical 
basis. In some instances the test was abandoned and 
after unsuccessful experiment with another was re- 
adopted. Thus tested in the crucible of experiment, 
the evangelical basis was established more firmly in 
the confidence of the friends of work for young 
men within the brotherhood and outside of it." 

We can no more afford to depart from the Evan- 
gelical Test than from the Paris Basis. On our loyalty 
to Jesus Christ and to the church which represents 
Him on earth our very life depends. John R. Mott, 
speaking at the Decennial Conference of the World's 
Student Christian Federation, at Zeist in 1905, said: 
"It is into His kingdom that students are streaming 
from the East and from the West, from the North and 
from the South. He is the great magnet; if He con- 
tinually be lifted up by the different movements, all 
classes of students will be inevitably drawn unto Him. 
Christ is our message, for He only can satisfy the con- 
sciences, the hearts, the minds of men. Only in Him 
and His cross let our glory be. To Him must we go 
to learn those principles and methods which, no matter 
what our national and racial conditions, will be found 
to have universal adaptation. To carry out His pro- 



PRINCIPLES: OUR BASIS 27 

gram is the only sufficient reason for the existence of 
the Federation and the only adequate goal of our 
effort. From Him we derive our life and power, and 
we do well to heed the lesson of history that every 
Christian organization which has ceased to preserve 
a vital relation to Him has soon become formal and 
lifeless/' 

Readings: — Fifty Years of Federation, pp. 33, xxii., 
46. Life of McBurney, pp. 174-185. A History of the 
Young Men's Christian Association, p. 166, et seq. 
Relation to the Churches. Report of Buffalo Conven- 
tion of 1904. Report of Washington Convention of 
1907. Working Together. 



Principles: Our Aim 



LESSON III. MEANING OF THE PARIS 
BASIS 

Assuming that the documents already described are 
the foundation upon which the Association stands, and 
taking the Paris Basis as an outline for further study 
of principles, it will be seen that we are striving to do 
two mutually helpful things: (i) To train Christian 
young men in Christian service; (2) To save non- 
Christian young men. 

(1) To train Christian young men. "The Young 
Men's Christian Associations seek to unite those 
young men, who, regarding jesus christ as their 
Saviour/' etc. This leaves no doubt of the motive of 
the Young Men's Christian Associations — to take the 
scattered forces of Christian young men in a com- 
munity and bind them together in a united effort, 
thereby greatly multiplying their power. "One shall 
chase a thousand ; and two shall put ten thousand to 
flight." 

There is implied here a voluntary Association of 
young men, as well as an Association which knows no 
denomination, but gladly includes all. 

28 



PRINCIPLES: OUR AIM 29 

It is, too, an Association of young men, though not 
so much emphasis can be laid upon this element in 
our constitution as formerly, for to-day the Association 
is undertaking the solution of such vast problems that 
the most mature judgment is needed. Yet it would 
be well for our Associations to be seeking constantly 
to enlist men in this work early in their careers. 

"Desire to be His disciples." Disciple means 
learner or scholar. It is significant that this word 
should have been used in speaking of Christian young 
men. It means that those who are to be trained for 
service are those who, being Christians, desire to go 
further, and to study under the greatest Teacher, Jesus 
Christ Himself. 

And the words which follow are equally significant : 
"Desire to be His disciples (scholars) in their doc- 
trine and in their life/' Here we have the two 
sides of a man : what he knows — his doctrine ; what he 
is — his life. 

In Doctrine. This does not mean in any sense that 
this Association is to teach theology. Nothing is 
clearer than that it cannot take sides on controverted 
questions in the realm of theology. A friendly critic 
said a short time ago, "In our opinion nothing could 
be more disastrous than for the Association to take 
up any distinct system of ideas — higher critical or anti- 
critical — or that a secretary in his work should be an 
avowed advocate or condemner in matters that do not 
appertain to the principles of morality and the funda- 
mental truths of the gospel of Christ." It does mean, 
however, that the active member of the Association 



30 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

should "know whom he has believed," and should seek 
to know better the Gospel of Christ. 

In Life. After all it is not so much what a man 
knows, as what he is — his character — that counts. 
Phillips Brooks once said, "It is not by the truth the 
clergy teach, it is by the lives the Christian people 
live, that the church must be the witness of the 
Father." Life is greater than knowledge. Moreover, 
we are learning the danger of teaching truth that is 
not worked out in life; in more senses than one "a 
little learning is a dangerous thing." Dr. King, of 
Oberlin, says: "It is not enough passively to receive 
an idea; if it is really to be yours, you must express 
it in some way. You must put in into act. Your idea 
or ideal is not fully yours until you have expressed it. 
The resulting law for character is clear and unmis- 
takable: That which is not expressed dies!' We are 
justified, therefore, in insisting that the young men 
who are to work through the Association should not 
only know, but be. 

In thus seeking to unite Christian young men who 
desire to learn of Christ and live for Christ we are 
doing just what He Himself did, for early in His min- 
istry He appointed twelve that they might be with 
him [to learn of Him], and that he might send them 
forth [to live for Him]" (Mark iii, 14). This was the 
first Young Men's Christian Association, and its basis 
was not different from the one laid down in Paris in 
1855. Near the end of His life Jesus seems to have 
had the same idea in mind when He said that any man 
who had found in Him the door to life, should there- 



PRINCIPLES: OUR AIM 



3i 



after "go in" (to be with Christ and learn of Him) 
"and go out" (in fellowship and sympathy with men) 
(John x, 9). 

This first purpose of the Association : To train 
Christian young men has been put graphically by Mr. 
David McConaughy, himself at one time a general 
secretary on the home, and afterwards on the for- 
eign field. 

DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING THE MODEL 
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION 



^^J^-Oat^ 




32 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

The following explains the diagram : 
Reduced, then, to its simplest form, the Model Asso- 
ciation is seen to be: 

a. A circle of Disciples, vitally connected with 
Christ and drawing from Him all needed supplies both 
for life and work. 

b. This circle is irresistibly attracted to the Centre 
by the Centripetal law of the Spiritual Kingdom — the 
"Come" of Jesus, manifesting itself Godward in the 
prayer-habit and manward in Bible-study. 

c. But no sooner is this Centripetal Law obeyed, 
than the counterforce of the Centrifugal Law is 
brought into play, and the "Go" of Jesus turns the 
face of the disciple towards the "uttermost parts." 

d. In reaching the outside circle, the Association 
aims to bring in every man without reference to any 
national or denominational distinctions. 

e. The aim, also, is to draw out every man on all 
sides of his being — body, mind and soul. 

f. Having thus first brought the man in and then 
drawn him out, the Association still further seeks to 
send forth every man to bring in every other man. 

This is the first part of our double purpose : to train 
Christian young men for service. 

(2) To save non-Christian young men. "And to 

ASSOCIATE THEIR EFFORTS FOR THE EXTENSION OF HlS 

kingdom."" This statement in the Basis makes plain 
a fact which ought not to need any special emphasis, 
namely, that the primary purpose of the Christian 
young men who are brought together in the Associa- 
tion is not the securing of some benefit to themselves, 



PRINCIPLES: OUR AIM 33 

be it educational, physical, or what not. We are "saved 
to serve." One of the characteristics which distin- 
guish the Association from the mere social club lies 
just here: men join the latter for what they can get, 
the former for what they can give. At the same time 
it is clear that the educational classes, the gymnasium, 
and the other advantages offered by the Association 
are not merely means by which men are dragged into 
Bible classes and evangelical meetings. They are good 
things in themselves, and men are justified in joining 
the Association so that they may enjoy them and get 
benefit from them. But in these studies we are seek- 
ing for principles, and the principle enunciated here 
is that the Association exists primarily, and is sup- 
ported primarily, because it deals with the spiritual 
nature of young men, and furnishes opportunities for 
giving rather than getting. 

President Lowell, of Harvard, says : "A normal 
young man longs for nothing so much as to devote 
himself to a cause that calls forth his enthusiasm and 
the greater the sacrifice involved the more eagerly will 
he grasp it. If we were at war, and our students were 
told two regiments were seeking recruits, one of which 
would be stationed at Fortress Monroe, well housed 
and fed, living in luxury, without risk of death or 
wounds, while the other would go to the front, be 
starved and harassed by fatiguing marches under a 
broiling sun, amid pestilence, with men falling from 
its ranks, killed or suffering mutilation, not a single 
man would volunteer for the first regiment, but the 
second would be quickly filled." 



34 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

It is also clear from this statement that this is to be 
an associated effort. The load which is too heavy for 
any Christian young man alone, he and those asso- 
ciated with him can lift. 

Here, too, we have the very heart of the Association 
idea : the extension of His kingdom. As has been said 
above, not the training of athletes, not the care of the 
body, good as these may be; not the increase of a 
man's efficiency by education, laudable as such a pur- 
pose is; but the problem which we have set ourselves 
to solve is the one which faced our Lord when He 
was here upon the earth. The question ever before 
Him was, "How can I establish my kingdom on this 
earth ?" From the day when Satan promised to give 
the kingdoms of the earth to Him if He would wor- 
ship him, until He cried out, "It is finished," this was 
what He was trying to do. It is the problem of the 
Young Men's Christian Association to-day : the estab- 
lishment of Christ's kingdom among young men. In 
other words, our work is a religious work: we seek 
the spiritual welfare of young men. Men recognize 
this, so well has the Association adhered to this funda- 
mental principle. Some time ago a rich man, with 
little or no interest in religion, was asked to contribute 
to the endowment fund of the educational department 
of the International Committee. He declined on the 
ground that in giving to that department he would be 
giving to a religious work, for he said if the whole 
work of the Association were not religious then it was 
false to its principles. He was right. All our work, 



PRINCIPLES: OUR AIM 35 

social, educational, physical, is in order that we may- 
extend His kingdom among young men. 

One who has carefully studied the Association has 
recently said : "We are at length beginning to see, as 
through a glass darkly, that the aim of our work is not 
simply to get a few hundreds or thousands of men 
into Bible classes or evangelistic meetings or shop 
classes, but that nothing short of bringing Jesus Christ 
to all the men of a city will fulfill our obligation."* 

At the Bronxville Conference of 1907 this principle 
was stated as follows : "In the prosecution of its work, 
the local association should not be satisfied to influ- 
ence only those who come or may be brought to its 
building. The work in the building must first be made 
and kept strong. Then from this center trained and 
capable men should go forth to carry the spirit and in- 
fluence of the association to those outside. "f 

This is the second part of our double purpose: to 
save non-Christian young men. 

At Home and Abroad. The Church of Christ was 
slow to take upon itself the responsibility for the 
men of other lands. So, too, the Association until 
1889, with its growing work at home, did not feel any 
obligation towards the young men of foreign mission 
lands. But in that year, in response to the calls of 
missionaries on the field, the North American Asso- 
ciations showed that they realized their duty to all 
young men, by sending general secretaries to Madras, 
India, and Tokyo, Japan ; and now the extension of 



* Working Together, page 51. 
fReligious Work for Men, page 10. 



36 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

Christ's kingdom among young men abroad is recog- 
nized as being as much a part of our work as the ex- 
tension of that kingdom among young men at home. 

The principle that part of the Association's field is 
abroad has become so well recognized that some asso- 
ciations in addition to their home secretaries have 
secretaries on the foreign field, who are carried on 
their budgets. Again and again the International 
Conventions have approved this foreign work, and or- 
dered the International Committee to continue it. 

One well-known worker in an association which 
has its representative on the foreign field has 
said : "I repeat what I have publicly said before that 
the corner-stone of Washington's new building in G 
Street was really laid in Allahabad, for it was this 
foreign enterprise and interest which awakened in the 
Association here a new sense of obligation and of out- 
reach for the men of the national capital." 

It certainly is interesting to note that the geometrical 
increase in the prosperity of the home associations has 
been since they undertook the work in foreign mission 
lands. 

And finally, the very success of the Young Men's 
Christian Associations has led other organizations to 
seek to associate themselves with it. But our motto 
should be, "no entangling alliances."* We have a 
broad and needy field, the work is hard enough to 
stimulate any man, and we have no excuse for going 
outside. Let us continue to unite Christian young 



♦Association Men, August, 1908. 



PRINCIPLES: OUR AIM 37 

men, who, having acknowledged Jesus Christ as Sa- 
viour, now wish to learn of Him and live for Him, as 
they seek to extend His kingdom until the young men 
of this land and of all lands have acknowledged Him 
as Lord and Master. 

We must continue to lay the emphasis on the re- 
ligious work of the Association. It began in a meet- 
ing for prayer and Bible study ; it has gone from 
strength to strength as these objectives have been kept 
supreme. The lure of the secular is but a repetition 
of our Lord's first temptation : make bread out of 
stones ; let men see that you can make provision for 
their material wants. He refused to use such means 
for the establishment of His kingdom, and the dis- 
ciple must not be above his^ Teacher. 



Methods 



LESSON IV. ADAPTING THE ASSOCIATION 
TO THE FIELD 

It has already been said that principles are perma- 
nent, methods change. In the early days of the As- 
sociation movement the method of attaining its pur- 
pose was by prayer meetings and Bible study only; 
now the gymnasium, the educational class, camps and 
outings, as well as prayer meetings and Bible study, 
enter into our method. 

i. Know What the Association is 

In seeking to find the proper methods for carrying 
on our work it is necessary in the first place to deter- 
mine what the Association is. 

(i) It is not a church. A few years ago, when 
they were thinking of organizing an Association in a 
certain city, one pastor said to another, "What do you 
think of the new church they are talking about estab- 
lishing down on Main Street?" Such a feeling was 
prevalent at one time and was clearly erroneous. We 
do not meet it very often now, but we ought to have 
it in mind. 

38 



METHODS: THE FIELD 39 

This feeling was caused by the methods used by the 
early associations. For instance a delegate was sent 
to the Convention of 1854, "To present the mission 
Sunday-School work in which our association was 
greatly interested, having charge at this time of seven 
schools." 

But in 1908 we find the pastors of a great city pub- 
lishing in the daily papers the following unsolicited 
testimony signed by the leading pastors of nine de- 
nominations : 

"To the Philadelphia Churches: The formal 
opening of the new million-dollar building of the 
Young Men's Christian Association, 142 1 Arch Street, 
next week, will mark an epoch in the religious life of 
Philadelphia. 

"No organization is supplementing the work of the 
churches more effectively than the Young Men's Chris- 
tian Association, and the great army of more than half 
a million of church members and Sunday-school 
scholars in this city should give it their best moral and 
financial support. Being interdenominational in its 
character, it becomes a center where all the churches 
can meet and unite in aggressive Christian work. If 
the much discussed church union for which millions of 
Christians in home and foreign lands are praying will 
ever be consummated, it will be effectively aided by 
the Young Men's Christian Association. 

"We, the undersigned, entirely unsolicited by the 
directors of the Young Men's Christian Association, 
hereby appeal to the people of our respective denomi- 
nations to give this institution their support in every 



40 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

possible way, and that the pastors of the local churches 
use their influence in directing the young men of their 
congregations to the practical help they may receive 
by enrolling as members of the Central Association 
Branch and enlist the interest and support of their 
people generally in this worthy institution. The man- 
agement of the Central Association of Philadelphia 
is in the hands of expert consecrated Christian work- 
ers, and too much cannot be said in its favor." 

All parties have come to realize that the Associa- 
tion is supplemental to the Church. This is clearly 
shown in the fundaments of the association, for it is 
the church which says whether or not a man is quali- 
fied for active membership in the Association. As has 
been well said, we have "Two separate organizations 
working together by different methods for the same 
ends." 

A good many things are involved in the fact that 
the Association is not a church : it means that although 
active in the Association our first allegiance is to the 
Church of Jesus Christ, our first duty to the denomi- 
nation of our choice; it means also that the Associa- 
tion must follow, not lead, in matters within the pe- 
culiar province of the church. 

The convention of 1866 passed the following: 

"Resolved, That members of associations should 
hold their obligations to their churches as having a 
prior claim upon their sympathy and effort." 

Mr. R. C. Morse thus sums up the relation of the 
Association to the Church : 

"This review of the relation to the churches of the 



METHODS: THE FIELD 41 

North American Young Men's Christian Associations, 
during their first half century, brings out clearly the 
fact that it was the young men of evangelical churches 
who united their efforts to create the associations, and 
that they did this after loyally consulting their pastors 
and with a purpose not to substitute the church but to 
bring young men into its membership. They framed 
an evangelical, churchly basis for their organization. 
A successful experience of over fifty years has happily 
vindicated its churchly purpose and character. Thus 
in their association work these young men have been 
true to their purpose, their pastors, and their 
churches ; have multiplied their own responsibilities 
and efficiency as laymen in Christian work ; have pro- 
moted unity and cooperation among the churches to 
which they have severally belonged ; have held their 
obligations to these churches as having prior claim 
upon their sympathy and efforts ; have welcomed the 
cooperation of the clergy; have promoted the forma- 
tion of church young people's societies, which have 
now a membership many times more numerous than 
that of the associations ; and have suggested in the 
methods of their own work forms of effort, the adop- 
tion of which by the churches has increased their ef- 
ficiency. Among commercial young men in the cities, 
among students, sailors, soldiers, railroad employees, 
and young men of many industrial and other classes 
who are temporarily or permanently beyond the reach 
of denominational church agency, they have organized 
and fostered successful Christian effort. On the basis 
of this broad, diversified work, wrought out in North 



42 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

America, they have received and responded to invita- 
tion from leaders of churches on the foreign mission 
field and have begun successfully the organization of 
associations in many non-Christian lands. 

" Christ o et Ecclesice: For Christ and the Church these 
North American associations were founded by young 
men loyal to their church vows and membership ; for 
Christ and the Church they have developed their work 
and multiplied their agencies, leading the young men 
they most benefit into church communion and fellow- 
ship ; for Christ and the Church association officers 
and workers are enrolling an increasing multitude of 
young men of many classes at home and abroad, who 
are attracted to their buildings and come within reach 
of their welcome, membership, and influence."* 

(2) It is not a social club. Although it might hon- 
estly be stated that in many ways and to many men 
the Association is a social club, yet it is true that in 
the ordinary sense of these words it is not. There 
will always be this great distinction, as has already 
been said, between the Association and the ordinary 
social club; a man joins the latter for what he gets; 
but the other, the ideal Association, for what he can 
give. There is a tendency, however, to make the As- 
sociation more like a club ; to restrict all the privileges 
exclusively to members, as in clubs. 

(3) What the Association is. This has been de- 
fined in our study of principles. Having this definition 



*Relation to the Churches, pp. 54, 55. 



METHODS: THE FIELD 43 

in mind let us strive to adopt methods which will make 
it in reality what we have made it in theory, an every- 
day religious work for young men by young men. 

A great general secretary once said : 

"I cannot conclude this statement without again re- 
ferring to the supreme importance of the religious 
motive as the foundation for any movement which 
hopes to meet the needs of men. An assiduous altru- 
ism can never be a substitute for a personal knowledge 
and experience with Jesus Christ. No plans for so- 
called 'betterment work' can reach very far into the 
future, nor ever touch deeply the well-springs of life 
which would avoid or veneer or neglect this deep need 
of the human soul." 

We sometimes hear it said that the Association is 
being secularized, that it is losing sight of the funda- 
mentals. This is not a new accusation. In the Mon- 
treal Convention in 1867, the following was adopted: 
"That this convention regards the introduction of 
games into the rooms of the Young Men's Christian 
Associations, for the entertainment or amusement of 
young men, as fraught with evil, dangerous to the best 
interests of associations, compromising to Christian 
integrity, and dishonoring to our blessed Master and 
Teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ." 

2. Know the Field of the Young Men's Chris- 
tian Association 

(1) What its field is not. There is a great deal of 
good work waiting to be done, but we must realize 



44 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

that the Association is not called upon to do it all. 
All sorts of work for men, relief work and rescue mis- 
sion work, is necessary, but that does not make it our 
work ; the field of the Association is elsewhere. Then 
there is the Sunday-school work and the work of gen- 
eral foreign missions which belong so plainly to the 
church ; these fields are not for us. But every now 
and then an Association loads itself up with some 
work of this kind and then wonders why the com- 
munity does not support it. It is probably duplicating 
the work of some other equally needed organization. 

At the Bronxville Conference of 1907 it was said 
that the following kinds of good work were among 
those not to be undertaken by the Association: 

Movements to secure the enactment of laws. 

The enforcement of present laws. 

The settlement of disputes between capital and 

labor. 
Movements of a political nature. 

And then was added : "These reforms are in process 
of accomplishment through other agencies. While, as 
organizations, the associations cannot wisely engage in 
them, the individual members are, of course, in no 
sense restricted in their personal attitude toward such 
movements."* 

The field of the Association has been well defined 
in the form of constitution proposed for the twentieth 
century Association : "The object of this Association is 
to develop the Christian character and usefulness of 



*Religious Work for Men, p. 101. 



METHODS: THE FIELD 45 

its members, and to improve the spiritual, mental, so- 
cial, and physical conditions of young men." 

This does not mean that the Association must hold 
aloof from all other organizations : on the other hand 
there are always some in every community with which 
it can cooperate. Particularly is this true of any ef- 
forts the churches may make towards helping the 
young men of the community. 

One of the speakers at a Springfield Training 
School commencement has well said : "Another dan- 
ger you will run into is that of institutional isolation. 
It is not an easy thing to make your association co- 
operate with the other institutions of the city or town. 
The easy thing to do is to let it be an independent 
concern ; but by so doing you will let it be shorn of 
its peculiar strength. The Young Men's Christian As- 
sociation, like almost no other institution I know of, 
can be mediator or intermediary between the various 
forms of organized life in a community." 

In the winter of 1908-9 an interesting conference 
was held in New York City, attended by many of the 
leading general secretaries of the country. They had 
come together at the invitation of the Religious Work 
Department of the International Committee to con- 
sider the attitude the Association should assume to- 
wards the various men's movements in the churches. 
After prolonged and careful debate the result of the 
conference was expressed in the following resolutions : 

"That the local associations be encouraged to co- 
operate with the church brotherhoods and laymen's 
movements, and in the problems of federating the same ; 



46 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

and to take such action in relation to the associations 
and their organizations as local conditions seem to 
justify, and to offer leadership therein where such 
leadership is heartily welcomed by such organiza- 
tions. 

"That in any movement for federation the associa- 
tion shall not be represented by delegates, but its sec- 
retaries, or other representatives as such, may act in 
an advisory or helpful capacity." 

(2) Its field is among men and boys. It includes 
all classes of men : students, clerks, laborers, railroad 
men, schoolboys, and working boys. It includes the 
whole man : spirit, mind and body. It means that the 
Association has the privilege of creating an atmos- 
phere in which a man will develop along all lines of 
his being, so that the best that is in him — his spiritual 
nature — shall naturally dominate the whole man. 

While it is true that the Association's field is well 
defined, and entangling alliances are to be avoided, 
there seems to be no reason why it should not, 
especially through its employed officers, relate itself 
to the various movements for social betterment and 
civic righteousness. One well-qualified general secre- 
tary urges alliance with the public school authorities, 
and with the patriotic and civic, societies as well as 
organized charity societies of the city.* The associa- 
tions are entering more and more largely into the 
work of the various Playground Associations. 

(3) It is for the individual man. It is significant of 



*W. K. Cooper in Association Monthly, June, 1910. 



METHODS: THE FIELD 47 

our movement that a recent circular of the publication 
department of the International Committee is headed, 
"Personal Work Literature," and then follow eleven 
titles of books to help men deal with individual men. 
We used to think that it was enough to get a crowd of 
men together and tell the crowd what Christ had done 
for them. Now each of us is discovering that as an 
Association man, having found out what Christ has 
done for me, I should tell the man alongside of me 
what He will do for him. 

The second temptation which met our Lord at the 
opening of His public ministry was the temptation 
which meets the Association at this point : the tempta- 
tion to depart from the quiet, unseen method of per- 
sonal work to the noisy way of dealing with crowds. 
Satan asked our Lord to win His kingdom by the 
spectacular method of casting Himself down from the 
temple, thus attracting and overawing the crowd. But 
He refused, and so must we. 

3. Study Your Particular Field 

One of the speakers at the Niagara Falls Confer- 
ence said: "Small cities do not need all the stunts of 
the large cities." Forgetting this causes a good deal 
of trouble. A story is told of a man who secured cer- 
tain territory in which to sell a new kind of buoy for 
marking rocks, etc. Learning his story he proceeded 
to a lake in the territory assigned to him and explained 
to the proprietor the various good points of his 
buoys, their durability, cheapness, etc. He was 



48 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

greatly taken back upon being told that there were no 
rocks in the lake.* 

I talked with a secretary once who told me that 
when he went to a certain city the Association had no 
educational classes, the reason given being that the 
city night schools were so good that for the Associa- 
tion to undertake such work would be merely dupli- 
cating existing agencies. But those who said this had 
jumped at conclusions ; they had not studied the field 
of that Association. An investigation of the large 
manufactories revealed the fact that scarcely any of 
their thousands of men attended the night schools or 
felt that it would do them any good to attend. Edu- 
cational classes were started with splendid results. 

Two or three suggestions along this line will be 
given. Seek to know : 

(i) What kind of a town it is.f Is it large or 



*When country work was undertaken, city methods were 
tried, but it was found that they would not work. Different 
methods had to be employed in work for boys in the country 
than for boys in cities. This was due to the local situation 
and conditions. 



fMake a thorough, just and complete study of the 
existing conditions in the community, and the forces which 
are at work for the amelioration of evil conditions and the 
promotion of good conditions ; that is a long term task — one 
not accomplished in a year or even in two years. I have 
lived for two years in Washington, and I feel the forces 
at work in the community, and I presume there is no city 
in the nation in which the conditions have been more 
adequately examined than in Washington. The Presidential 
committee in Washington produced a book of six hundred 
pages, covering every condition of living in Washington. 
If you want to learn how to study your community, I think I 
would advise you to write to your Congressman and ask if 



METHODS: THE FIELD 49 

small? This means a good deal. A director, for in- 
stance, could probably do more financial work in a 
small town than in a large one. Men know each other 
better in small places. 

Is it a suburban town? The problem of the sub- 
urban town is quite different from other places. Over- 
shadowed by a great city, with the attractions of which 
it cannot compete, the Association in the suburban 
town must provide the things which will reach and 
hold its young men. 

And so the questions could be asked: Is it a manu- 
facturing city? Is it in a farming community? If 
we are to meet the needs of our own town or city we 
must know what kind of a town or city we are in. 

Whether the Metropolitan plan of organization 
should be adopted will depend upon the kind of town 
or city the association is in. 

(For this plan see p. 61.) 

(2) What kind of people live there. I remember 
once going into a large church in a certain city, and, 
being interested in Sunday-schools, I stayed after the 
morning service to see the school. It was painfully 
small compared with the large church attendance, and 
when I asked if I might see the primary department 
I was taken into a little upstairs room where four- 



he can secure for you a copy of the report of the committee 
regarding the conditions in Washington, and with the sug- 
gestions you will there obtain, study your own community 
to ascertain the life of the community in which you live; 
then relate yourself to those agencies through which you 
believe yon can best operate. — W. K. Cooper, Association 
Monthly, June, 1910. 



50 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

teen little children sat on a single long bench. I was 
so surprised that I turned to my conductor and asked 
where the children were. His answer made all plain, 
for he told me that their church was in the midst of a 
boarding house neighborhood, and that families with 
children did not board if they could help it. The 
handful of children in the Sunday-school was prac- 
tically all the children of the families connected with 
the church. It would have been useless under such 
circumstances to make preparations for a big pri- 
mary, department. So of the Association; we must 
know the kind of people who inhabit that particular 
town. Are they boarders or housekeepers ? Are they 
a church-going community? What occupies the 
leisure time of the young men — for we cannot afford 
to make the mistake which a certain doctor is said to 
have made, who, in ignorance of the man's occupa- 
tion, told a letter carrier that he needed to walk more. 
It is helpful, too, to know the kind of government 
which exists in the city: is it good or bad? Are the 
city officials in control for what they can make out of 
it ? How do the powers that be treat the saloon ques- 
tion? All these things have a vital bearing on the 
methods to be employed in that particular town. 

4. Adopt a Policy for Your Town 

In view of the kind of community you are in, and 
the kind of people who live in it, make your policy 
fit the facts. Here many mistakes are made. A secre- 
tary hears of some method which works in a city of a 



METHODS: THE FIELD 51 

million, and he wonders why it fails in his city of ten 
thousand ; or it works in that little town far from a 
big city, and he wonders why it does not work in his 
suburban Association. One of the secretaries in 
China in his report to the home committee expressed 
this thought of making the policy fit the people, by 
saying: "Our business is to attract these men 
(literati) to us, to win their friendship, confidence and 
esteem, and this can only be done in the first instance 
on the ground of common interest." When the Amer- 
ican fleet was at Yokohama in 1908 it was found that 
the men would wait from half an hour to an hour at 
the landing stage, waiting for the boats to take them 
back to their ships. The Association took advantage 
of this time to hold gospel meetings. This is just 
what the Association needs to do : to find the point of 
contact, and adopt methods suited to its community. 

A railroad car is so constructed that when the train 
comes to a curve, instead of leaving the tracks, it ac- 
commodates itself to the changed direction. So must 
it be with the Association. Use the method adapted 
to your circumstances. 

5. What Shall be Our Policy? 

In the first place, the Association must, in order to 
fulfil its greatest function, give the men of the city 
an opportunity to study the Bible and must conduct 
some kind of meeting at which they may hear the 
gospel. In the second place, if it is going to be what 
it claims to be, an everyday work for young men, it 



52 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

must give the young man a chance to develop his 
body and his mind. But it must do more than all 
this. One of our most thoughtful secretaries has said, 
"If the Association is to grapple successfully with 
the problem of men's lives, there must be something 
tried besides prayer meeting talks, and Bible classes, 
and evangelistic meetings, and physical culture and 
educational classes, and socials. If we would really 
save men, we are obliged to correct and elevate the 
environment of city life." No narrower policy than 
this ought to satisfy a twentieth century Young Men's 
Christian Association. 



Methods: Organization 



LESSON V. SUPERVISING AGENCIES 

Effective organization of the Association is essen- 
tial to the maintenance of our principles and the work- 
ing of our methods. It has been found to be true that 
the best organized Associations accomplish the best 
results. 

In this matter of organization, of course, each Asso- 
ciation is supreme. Neither International nor State 
Committee has any right to dictate what that organi- 
zation shall be, nor how it shall be brought about. In 
the local Association we get back to the original unit 
of the movement. 

Two agencies of supervision have been called into 
existence by the needs of the movement : ( I ) The 
International Committee; (2) State and Provincial 
Executive - Committees. 

(1) The International Committee: This body 
was created by the Convention of 1866. It now 
consists of sixty members elected by delegates sent 
from local associations to the biennial international 
convention. It has its headquarters in New York 

53 



54 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

City. The members living in Canada form the Cana- 
dian section. 

This committee has never had any legislative pow- 
ers ; its relation to the local associations has always 
been advisory. At the very first convention held at 
Buffalo in 1854 the delegates declared, "This body 
shall have no authority or control over the affairs of 
any local association" ; and this advisory relationship 
has been consistently maintained. It has been said 
to consist of: 

a. The forming of Young Men's Christian As- 
sociation organizations — local, State, county, 
metropolitan ; and 

b. The fostering of the varied work of these or- 
ganizations in all their different departments 
and branches — physical, educational, religious, 
boys', student, railroad, colored, Indian, army 
and navy, and foreign. 

The constitution of the International Committee is 
to be found in more than a hundred resolutions passed 
from time to time by international conventions. At 
the convention held at Grand Rapids in 1899, an at- 
tempt was made to define the relation of this Commit- 
tee and of State Committees to the local organizations. 
The following resolution was adopted : 

"Resolved, i, That the International and State com- 
mittees exist as independent supervisory agencies, di- 
rectly and equally related to the local organization, 
which is the original independent unit in the brother- 
hood of the Young Men's Christian Associations, and 



METHODS: SUPERVISING 55 

that the relation of the supervisory agencies to the 
local organizations is as a rule advisory. 

2. That in the relations of comity, which have been 
well established by usage hitherto, it is understood that 
the International Committee as a rule exercises gen- 
eral and the State Committee exercises close super- 
vision, it being also understood that by the terms gen- 
eral and close nothing is intended inconsistent with 
the direct and equal relation of each local organization 
to both the international and state organizations. 

3. That it is desirable that the international com- 
mittee, in each department of its work, plan to meet 
the needs of fields where state and provincial organi- 
zations exist, in conference with such organizations, in 
such a way as to supplement, not duplicate, the corre- 
sponding department of state or provincial work, and 
to secure by such adjustment of forces economy of 
effort, time and money." 

These resolutions were reaffirmed without change at 
the Boston Convention in 1901, and a committee ap- 
pointed by the Convention of 1899 was enlarged to 
twenty-one members, and became known as The Com- 
mittee of Twenty-one. 

This committee reported to the Buffalo Convention 
in 1903, and after extended debate the following ac- 
tion was taken. This defines the powers, duties and 
relationship of the supervisory agency, the Interna- 
tional Committee. 

"First: The 'Grand Rapids Resolutions' unani- 
mously adopted by the International Convention of 
1899 and reaffirmed without change by the convention 



56 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

of 1901, fairly interpreted, express the historic basis of 
relationship upon which the associations have devel- 
oped and have been so abundantly blessed of God. 

Second: Radical organic changes in the polity 
of the associations are neither necessary nor 
desirable. 

Third: Efficient state and provincial organizations 
have long been recognized as essential factors in the 
successful development of the local association ; and 
an important part of the work of the International 
Committee has been to establish and assist these or- 
ganizations. This policy becomes increasingly im- 
portant with the development of the association work. 
It is, therefore, the duty of the agents of the Inter- 
national Committee, when working in fields having 
state or provincial organizations to aid and strengthen 
those organizations. It is equally the duty of the 
agents of the state and provincial organization to sup- 
port and aid the International Committee in its rela- 
tion to the associations and in its work for the North 
American association brotherhood. 

Fourth : The local association, as the independent 
unit, has the right to apply for aid to either super- 
vising agency, and it is the right of each agency of 
supervision to respond directly to the calls of the local 
associations. 

It is desirable that the local associations should 
employ the State Committee to the largest practicable 
extent in close supervision of the work. 

To this end and for the harmonious development 
and administration of the whole work, save in excep- 



METHODS: SUPERVISING 57 

tional cases, the International Committee should re- 
spond to applications from the local associations in 
conference and cooperation with the State Committee. 
The right of the local association, however, to apply 
for and receive aid from either supervisory agency 
should not be denied or abridged. 

Fifth : The historic and well-settled autonomy and 
independence of the local association should and will 
continue unquestioned ; and nothing in this report 
shall be construed as in any way interfering with the 
right of the local association to organize branches 
of its own in any department." 

The International Committee was incorporated by 
special act of the New York Legislature in 1883. Its 
legal name is International Committee of Young 
Men's Christian Associations. 

(2) State and Provincial Executive Committees 

These committees are to their respective states and 
provinces what the International Committee is to the 
United States and Canada. They came into being be- 
cause it was found that the multiplying organizations 
needed more and closer attention than could be given 
them by a committee having such a large field as has 
the International Committee. The International Con- 
vention of 1866 directed the International Committee 
to undertake the formation of these State and Pro- 
vincial Committees and now they exist in most of our 
states and in the provinces of Canada. 

As with the International Committee the members 



58 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

are elected by delegates from local associations assem- 
bled at a state convention. 

The Young Women's Christian Association is try- 
ing the experiment of making these State Committees 
part of the National Committee. 

Some effort has been made by supervisory agencies 
to control the organization of new associations. The 
law of New York now provides that before the cer- 
tificate of incorporation of a Young Men's Christian 
Association can be filed in that State, it must have 
the approval of the State Executive Committee, and 
it also provides a method by which the State Commit- 
tee can take possession of the property of a local as- 
sociation, which for one year discontinues the use of 
its property for association purposes. Such laws are 
of doubtful constitutionality. 

Extract from Chapter 320, New York Laws of 1905 

"Sec. 92 : Dissolution. Whenever any association 
formed under the provisions of this article shall cease 
to carry out the objects set forth in its certificate of in- 
corporation, according to the general rules and regu- 
lations of the State Executive Committee of Young 
Men's Christian Associations of this State, or shall 
abandon or discontinue for one year the use of any of 
its property for such objects, then upon the applica- 
tion of a majority of the managers or directors of 
such association upon fourteen days' notice to said 
State Executive Committee by service thereof upon its 
chairman and secretary or in the event of their fail- 
ure to act, upon the application of the said State 



METHODS: SUPERVISING 59 

Executive Committee of Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciations of the State of New York, by petition signed 
by a majority of the members of the said State Execu- 
tive Committee and verified by its chairman, to be 
made upon fourteen days' notice to be given to such 
association by service thereof upon its president, or 
any director or manager thereof, and upon one of 
the trustees thereof, and upon notice to the attorney 
general of the State of New York, the Supreme Court, 
upon satisfactory proof by affidavit or otherwise of 
the fact of such failure or abandonment, must make 
a final order dissolving such corporation, and upon the 
entry thereof, the corporation shall be dissolved, and 
upon such dissolution the State Executive Committee 
of the Young Men's Christian Associations of the 
State may take possession of the property belonging 
to such association and manage the same, or may if 
authorized by the concurring vote of two-thirds of its 
members sell or lease the same and apply the pro- 
ceeds thereof after the payment of the debts, if any, of 
the association so dissolved, to any like purposes for 
which the association was organized; and it shall not 
divert such property to any other purpose." 
But while not dictating, these supervising commit- 
tees can and do suggest the form of organization 
which experience has shown to be most helpful. Ordi- 
narily that form is as follows: (1) Board of Directors, 
from which the officers come ; (2) Board of Trustees ; 
(3) Advisory Board, and (4) Committees of the As- 
sociation. 



60 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

Association Boards 

i. Board of Directors 

Names. This board bears different names, depend- 
ing on local conditions ; board of managers, committee 
of management, etc., but its functions are well denned. 

How elected. The constitution in ordinary use pro- 
vides that its members shall be elected by and from the 
active members of the Association. This is putting 
into practice the principles of the Evangelical Test. 
The method of their election varies. The better 
method seems to be for the board or its chairman to 
appoint a nominating committee of five, a month or 
more before the annual meeting.* Any member de- 
siring to nominate a director can hand such nomina- 
tion to the nominating committee within a certain 
time after its appointment. At the annual meeting 
this committee reports the nominations regularly made 
to it, and from the men so nominated the new mem- 
bers of the board are elected. Where the interests 
confided to the Association are so great, and where 
the welfare of the organization depends so largely 
upon the character of the men who govern it, it is 
absolutely necessary that great care should be taken 
in the selection of these men. 

This method insures the deliberation which is neces- 
sary in order to secure these results, and also enables 
the committee to see that the nominees meet the con- 
stitutional requirements as to denominations, etc. 

*Model Constitution, Art. VI, § 14. See Appendix. 



METHODS: SUPERVISING 61 

In many large cities work for young men is carried 
on at more than one center. Formerly in such cities 
each center of work was an independent association. 
This caused much confusion and overlapping, espe- 
cially in the solicitation for financial support. At the 
present time these cities have adopted what is known 
as the Metropolitan Organization. 

Under the Metropolitan plan of organization there 
is one Young Men's Christian Association in the city, 
with as many branches or departments as may be 
necessary for effectively covering the field. This 
metropolitan Association is the legal corporation and 
has legal and administrative control over all its 
branches. It is managed as are other associations, by 
a, Board of Directors elected from the membership by 
the active members of the association. Sometimes 
polls are opened in the various branches. Each asso- 
ciation is a branch controlled by a committee of man- 
agement. In Chicago, this committee is appointed by 
the President of the Association. 

Members, although members of the association, join 
one particular branch of the association. Each branch 
or department is managed by a committee of manage- 
ment appointed by the President of the Association or 
by the Board of Directors. 

The entire association property, by whatever branch 
used, is held by the Board of Trustees and the cor- 
poration is legally responsible for the obligations of all 
branches. 

(i) Kind of men needed as directors. A good 
many considerations enter into the choosing of men 



62 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

for this office, but the choice should always be gov- 
erned by the nature of the work required of them. 
Some men are providentially debarred from this of- 
fice by nature, some by training, some by other cir- 
cumstances. We should recognize this fact. And we 
should have in mind that, roughly speaking, the duties 
of directors now divide into two great departments: 
financing, directing. Some men should be chosen be- 
cause fitted for the former, some because suited to the 
latter ; but all should have certain clearly defined 
qualifications : 

a. Of pronounced Christian character. This, of 
course, is a sine qua non. The director should be 
"moved by a deep religious conviction" — a man of 
heart. He should be broad-minded enough to be able 
to adjust himself comfortably to the changing condi- 
tions through which we are passing. 

b. Young. This word usually means, in Associa- 
tion nomenclature, between eighteen and forty ; and 
while the question of age is not now one of prime 
importance it ought to be borne in mind that we set 
ourselves up to be a Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion. It will be true generally that some older men 
will be needed on this board to give it stability and to 
add to the enthusiasm of youth the judgment of ma- 
ture years. Dr. Stanley Hall once put the question, 
"Have you not too many men past the dead line in 
places of authority?" We want to be able to answer 
this question in the negative. 

c. Positive. So many men are merely good. "He is 
all faults to me who has no faults at all." I remem- 



METHODS: SUPERVISING 63 

ber hearing a Sunday-school teacher say of one of his 
boys, "Oh, if he would only do something- wrong!" 
So many men are negative ; be on the lookout for men 
of positive convictions, and who would take the initia- 
tive in acting upon them. 

d. Of A 1 standing in the community. I once heard 
the complaint made against one of the directors of an 
Association that finally failed that he did not pay his 
pew rent; of another that he did not pay his debts. 
The Association cannot stand in the community any 
better than the men who govern it. 

It is at this point that Christ's third temptation 
meets the Association. Satan offered to give Jesus 
all kingdoms if He would form an alliance with him. 
This was the most subtle of all the temptations. It 
comes to the association when it is tempted to use 
some man because he has money or influence, but who 
is not the pronounced Christian man we need on our 
boards of directors. 

e. Not interested in too many things. He should 
be willing and able to give the necessary time to the 
work he is supervising and directing; this he cannot 
do if overloaded with other matters. He should be 
a man who enters upon the office not because he 
feels compelled to, or because he feels honored by the 
election, but because of the opportunity of service 
which it opens to him. 

He should also be able and willing to give time to 
learn about the work of the Young Men's Christian 
Associations. This would imply time to attend state 
conventions and to read Association literature. 



64 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

f. From the various churches. The constitution 
usually makes this wise provision. Sometimes it reads, 
"Not more than five directors may be members of the 
same religious denomination." The wisdom of repre- 
senting as many of the local churches as possible must 
be apparent to all. 

A young man once went to a General Secretary 
and asked if he could join that Association, stating 
that he was a Methodist. When the secretary asked 
him what difference that made he said, "Why, I 
thought the Y. M. C. A. was a Baptist institution." 
He had evidently lived in a town where Baptists ran 
the Association. 

g. Loyal to the Association cause. Many a man 
who is loyal to the church is not loyal to the Associa- 
tion. For various reasons he believes that the church 
ought to do the work and that another organization is 
not needed. However pronounced such a man's Chris- 
tian character may be, however well he may stand in 
the community, he is not the man to lead the Associa- 
tion cause. Before undertaking the office a man must 
believe thoroughly that it is the one organization that 
can and will successfully meet the needs of young men. 

h. Able to work with others. Our work is a united 
effort. We necessarily bring together men of differ- 
ent types and of different views, but if there is to be 
progress there must be harmony. Avoid the man 
who is constitutionally always on the other side. 

Readings: — Tzventieth Century City Association, 
Association for the Times, Fifty Years of Federation, 
The Polity of the North American Young Men's 
Christian Associations. 



Methods : Organization 



LESSON, VI. THE ASSOCIATION BOARDS 
(Continued) 

(2) Duties of directors. Given such men from 
whom to choose a board the question arises, What are 
their duties? In general this has been well put by a 
prominent Association man in these words : "The duty 
of the board is the same as that of any other organiza- 
tion ; its business is as important as any other and 
it requires the same intelligent thought and effort. If 
a man cannot meet these duties as he would meet the 
duties of any business organization, he should resign 
and let another take them, just as he would be ex- 
pected to do in any corporation for profit." 

Of course these duties will vary somewhat with the 
size and character of the town, but in general they 
are well known. A few may be mentioned: 

a. Inspiring and cheering the employed officers. The 
secretaries feel the need of this, but it is often over- 
looked or not thought of by the busy director. He 
should be in close touch with the secretary not merely 
to ratify his decisions, but to bring to the secretary 
the corrective of his large experience. 

65 



66 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

If we are going to prevent the Association from be- 
ing secretarialized the directors must have a more in- 
timate and personal acquaintance with the employed 
officers. 

b. To gain a full knowledge of the business end of 
the Association. There are Associations where the 
directors do not seem to feel that this is their duty ; 
they think that if the general secretary knows about 
things that is enough. But this is not true. The com- 
munity looks to the directors and any failure in main- 
taining business principles, no matter how brought 
about, is their failure, not the secretary's. 

. A recent writer has said: "True, these men (em- 
ployed officers) are nominally but the employees of a 
society in which there are many thousands of mem- 
bers ; true, certain men elected from these members 
hold the property and control its administration. As 
a matter of fact, however, the members of the Asso- 
ciation exercise no authority and the boards of direc- 
tors or trustees seldom initiate any plans or guide the 
development of any project."* 

c. To be real, not dummy, directors. This means 
that they shall not be content to sit apart from the real 
Association to review the work once a month as it is 
brought to them. They should be a part of the living 
organization : teach a Bible class, serve on the sociaf 
committee, solicit funds — do something that brings 
them in contact with Association life. 

d. To attend regularly the meetings of the board. 



The Outlook. 



METHODS: BOARDS 67 

As these meetings are held on a fixed night each 
month the directors ought to set that night sacredly 
aside for this purpose. For only by regular attend- 
ance can a director keep in close enough touch with 
the work to be useful. It is not to be expected that a 
director can attend all the other meetings of the or- 
ganization, but he should occasionally take the time to 
be present. 

(3) Organization of the Board of Directors. 

a. The board should not be so large as to be un- 
wieldy and yet it should be large enough to give the 
various denominations representation. Fifteen has 
been suggested as a good number. 

b. Only a certain proportion of the members should 
go out each year. Usually /he members are elected in 
three classes for three years each. This gives con- 
tinuity and stability to the body. 

c. Care should be taken that the organization of the 
board be in accordance with the laws of the State. 

In some States we find a provision in the law as 
follows : 

"Whenever trustees, managers or directors shall be 
elected, a certificate under the seal of the corporation, 
giving the names of those elected and the term of their 
office, shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the 
county in which the original certificate is filed."* 

d. Officers, (a) Chairman. The board elects its 
own officers, at the first meeting after its election. 

The Model Constitution provides : The Board of 



*Laws of N. J., 



68 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

Directors shall hold its first meeting within the two 
weeks immediately following an annual election, when 
there shall be chosen by ballot, from its own number, 
a President, a Vice-President, a Recording Secretary, 
and a Treasurer, who shall be the officers of the Asso- 
ciation and of the Board, and shall hold office for one 
year, or until their successors shall have been elected. 

All the officers and directors must be active mem- 
bers of the Association. 

The Board of Directors shall have power to fill all 
vacancies occurring from any cause in any of the of- 
fices, including that of director, until the next annual 
meeting thereafter. 

The most important of the officers is the chairman 
of the board, who is by virtue of his office president 
of the Association. Such a man needs in high degree 
the qualities which have been mentioned, together 
with some others which are not essential, though help- 
ful, in the other members of the board. The chairman 
should know how to preside and guide the discussions 
of the members in such a way as to economize time 
and avoid wrangling. He should be able to present 
the work well in public, for he exemplifies the Asso- 
ciation in the eyes of the community. 

He appoints the committees, subject, usually, to the 
approval of the board of directors, and it is his duty 
to present the annual report of the association. He is 
ex-officio a member of all committees. 

It is dangerous to elect a man to this office merely 
because he is a "successful" man. Such a man is apt 
to feel that he is conferring a favor by taking the of- 



METHODS: BOARDS 69 

fice, and he is not of much use to the working organi- 
zation. 

A writer in Association- Men thus speaks of this 
high office: 

"The president will know his membership ; will 
touch them in their every day experiences and prob- 
lems ; will ally himself with the activities of the Asso- 
ciation, be in his place at the head of the organization, 
actually, not nominally. He will have his mind and 
his heart full of the possibilities of his place; plan 
work, pray for it in all its manifestations ; keep the 
members of his board pulling at the oars, not sitting 
idly in the boat, expecting the general secretary to 
do all the rowing as well as the steering." 

(b) Vice-chairman. For safety, and because the 
chairman must sometimes be absent from meetings, 
this office should be filled. It can easily be made the 
training place for a future chairman. 

(c) Secretary. This office should be filled by a 
young man who is so situated that he of all others can 
be regular in attendance at board meetings. His 
duties are too well known to need discussion. 

(d) Treasurer. Of nearly equal importance with 
the office of chairman is that of treasurer. While he 
ought not as a rule to be burdened with the detail of 
Association finances, and certainly ought not to be 
expected to raise the money, nevertheless he stands 
before the community as the embodiment of the Asso- 
ciation's idea of financial affairs. He ought therefore 
to be a man respected in financial circles. In many 
places a well-known officer of a bank is selected for 



70 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

this office. This brings to the Association finances the 
experience of a trained man, and holds out to its sup- 
porters the promise of care in money matters. 

(e) General secretary. He is regarded as an officer 
of the Association, being elected by the board. His 
office and duties are treated later in this course. 



2. Board of Trustees 

The model constitution says on this subject : "All 
the real property of the Association shall vest in a 
Board of Trustees of nine members, who shall man- 
age said property in the interest of the Association. 
Funds received by bequest or for endowment shall 
also be held by the Board of Trustees." 

The members of this board are elected, not by the 
members of the Association, but by the Board of Di- 
rectors. Briefly they are to be the depository of that 
part of the Association's property, real and personal, 
which is permanent, such as buildings and endowment. 
This property is not devoted to meeting the current 
expenses of the organization, the income only being 
so used. The members of this board do not need to 
be as actively interested in the work as those on the 
other board. Usually some of the substantial citizens 
of the city are asked to fill these positions. They meet 
but seldom, once a year or so, and have a simple or- 
ganization consisting of a president and secretary- 
treasurer. The president of the Association ought to 
be ex officio a trustee and so form the connecting link 
between the two bodies. In some states the law does 



METHODS: BOARDS 71 

not permit such a body as this in addition to the Board 
of Directors. 

3. The Advisory Board 

This is a late addition to the Association scheme. 
It is formed for the purpose of bringing to the Asso- 
ciation the benefit of the counsel of leading men in 
the community, clergymen and laymen, who for vari- 
ous reasons would not otherwise have an active con- 
nection with the movement. This board need have no 
limit as to numbers, and should be appointed by the 
Board of Directors. When a valuable man is found 
who cannot serve the Association on either of the 
other boards his usefulness may be made available 
by making him a member of this board. 

Chicago Constitution provides (IV. Sec. 3) : 'There 
shall be not exceeding nine advisory managers, who 
shall be members in good standing in Protestant 
evangelical churches — not more than two to be from 
any one denomination. The chairman of the Commit- 
tee of Management of each department, unless a 
member of the Board of Managers, shall be ex of- 
ficio an advisory manager." 

(IV. Sec. 6.) "The advisory managers, other than 
the ex officio members, shall be appointed by the 
Board of Managers." 

(IV. Sec. 7.) "The advisory managers shall be 
notified of all meetings of the Board of Managers, 
and may attend and participate in the discussion, but 
shall not be entitled to vote." 

Membership on any one of these boards ought to be 



72 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

regarded as an honor, and more than an honor, a 
privilege. In seeking candidates the opportunity of 
service ought to be put before them. Time and again 
have men testified that membership in such bodies 
has been a source of spiritual power in their lives, and 
that there has come to them a great reflex blessing, 
which has been ample compensation for the worry and 
care so incident to office. 



Methods: Organization 



LESSON VII. COMMITTEES OF THE ASSO- 
CIATION 

4. Standing Committees 

In addition to the boards already mentioned effect- 
ive organization contemplates the distribution of the 
work of the Association among various committees. 
This is the modern method of conducting business, 
which is generally adopted by business corporations. 
Especially in an organization which is seeking to unite 
Christian young men in their efforts to extend Christ's 
kingdom among young men, the committee system 
furnishes for the active members a place in which to 
work. In proportion as the work is really done by 
the committees will the Association be successful. 
One thoughtful secretary has said, "Let us have less 
force of standing committees and more force of mov- 
ing committees." We must get committees that work. 

No attempt is made here to state the qualifications 
needed in members of various committees. As has 
been said the qualifications needed for one committee 
differ from those needed for others. The effort here 

73 



74 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

is to lay down general principles which will apply to 
all committees. 

Some have advocated the substitution of clubs for 
committees. This is largely a. change in name. One 
secretary who thinks such a change would be good 
writes, "I am impressed that more and more the best 
work and life of the Association will be carried on 
through self-governing clubs, cliques or groups that 
will feel the responsibility of pushing particular phases 
of the Association work within the organization." But 
it could make no real difference whether a certain 
body of men were called the "Religious Work Club" 
or the "Religious Work Committee." Many classes 
in the Association might be profitably organized as 
clubs, e. g., Fencing Club, Bookkeepers' Club, Leaders' 
Club, but the essence of a good committee does not lie 
in what it is called. 

Another has said, in discussing this subject: 
"Since the association has vested interests which 
must be protected, and fundamental principles which 
must be conserved, there is need for certain standing 
committees that shall maintain the life and integrity 
of the organization. The Standing Committees, how- 
ever, should be reduced to a minimum, and the great 
bulk of activities of the Association should be divided 
into innumerable tasks, to the performance of which 
individuals or groups of men, either genuine mem- 
bers or patrons of the institution, should be called. 
The employed staff and standing committee men may 
well devote their energies to the outlining of tasks, en- 
listing the men to fit the tasks, coaching the men as to 



METHODS: COMMITTEES 75 

limitations and objectives, then giving them large lib- 
erty of initiative and action until the task shall be 
complete, and the committee discharged."* 

Shall we use associate members on our standing 
commitees or only active members? There is a good 
deal of difference of opinion on this subject, and this 
question is answered in both the affirmative and nega- 
tive. Those who advocate using associate members 
say that it is a good thing to give such a man a chance 
to render unselfish service; that he is apt to become, 
through work, an active member. Where such men 
are used they are most often found on committees not 
concerned directly with the religious work of the As- 
sociation, e. g., membership, educational, or physical. 

It has often been found helpful to appoint each 
member of the Board of Directors as chairman of 
some committee, though this is not always possible. 
The board may not contain the kind of men needed. 
But when it can be done it enables the chairman of 
the committee to report in person at each meeting, 
and the other members of the board are thus apt to 
get; a better working knowledge of the Association 
than they would from written reports read by the re- 
cording secretary. 

It has been found helpful to get before the whole 
association a comprehensive view of the great associa- 
tion movement. This vision inspires men to take 
part in the work immediately at hand. 

(1) Committees needed. The number and charac- 

*Wood, Association Men, August, 1908. 



76 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

ter of the committees will vary with the size and char- 
acter of the city, but generally speaking the commit- 
tees suggested by the constitution proposed by the 
International Committee are the essential ones: 

Executive. Boys' Department. 

Finance. Women's Committee. 

Religious Work Department. Membership. 

Educational Department. Auditing. 

Physical Department. Visiting. 

Social Work Department. Nominating. 

The size of these committees will depend upon the 
size of the Association. All things considered, a small 
committee is better. In Boston the School Board was 
reduced from twenty-four members to five, and it was 
called "concentration for efficiency." 

The president of the Association is ex officio a mem- 
ber of each of the committees. He cannot expect to 
attend the meeting of each committee, but he is priv- 
ileged to do so. Occasionally he should enjoy this 
privilege. 

The general secretary is the executive officer of the 
various committees as he is of the Board of Directors, 
and he ought to attend the meetings of the committees 
whenever possible. 

The most important of these standing committees is 
the Executive, as it fills the place of the Board of Di- 
rectors in the intervals between the meetings of the 
board; very much, therefore, of the actual work of the 
Association must find its initiative with this commit- 
tee. On account of its importance it usually consists 



METHODS: COMMITTEES 77 

of the chairmen of other important committees, as 
Finance, Religious Work, etc. 

The work intrusted to the other committees is ex- 
pressed in the names given to them, and need not be 
enlarged upon here. 

(2) How to find committeemen. One of the ever- 
recurring problems in Association work is how to 
find good committeemen. Sometimes they are born ; 
more often they are developed. A good method has 
been for the president of the association to keep a 
''committee memo, book." Let him write in this book 
at the beginning of the year the names of the various 
committeemen, and as the year advances, and these 
men are working or not working, let him make appro- 
priate memoranda against the various names. Then 
when the new season opens he will have material from 
which to select committeemen intelligently. 

(3) Adaptation. The first qualification for & com- 
mitteeman is adaptation. One secretary states the 
common experience when he writes : "We find it pos- 
sible to use a man for sick visitation who would not 
make a successful leader of the committee on Sunday 
meetings. Similarly we can use a man on the shop 
meetings committee who would not make a successful 
leader of the Bible study club." 

A while ago a church received a fine stereopticon 
to be run by electric light. Some one was needed for 
this duty. There was a man in the church who was 
not doing anything, but who was fond of machinery 
and electricity. He gladly consented to be the guar- 



78 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

dian and operator of the lantern. He was adapted to 
that work ; he would have declined to teach a Bible 
class. 

(4) General suggestions. Find out what a man is 
fitted for and put him on the committee which offers 
the best opportunity for his special talents. Be on 
the watch for men who promise anything and do noth- 
ing. Weed them out. The men we need are those 
who will do more than they promise ; who are like the 
servants Paul speaks of who are not content with 
merely doing what is needed, but who "adorn the 
doctrine." Men who compelled to go one mile go 
twain. Cultivate your men. Invite them to teas, get 
them to read literature on the subject. We want com- 
mitteemen who are like the modern advertising agent, 
forever evolving new ideas. 

Do not put a man on too many committees, even 
when he is willing, as some men are. A good chair- 
man can, as a rule, be chairman of only one commit- 
tee. So much depends on the leader of the commit- 
tee that it would be well if he could make the work 
of that committee his only committee work, so that it 
would become a sort of hobby with him. 

The chairman should not do it all.* Some one once 
asked how many were on a certain committee and the 
prompt answer was, "10,000 — 1 and four zeroes." We 
have too many "committees of 10,000." And yet it 



*Edward Everett Hale's ideal committee was one consisting 
of three persons, one of whom should be in bed with chronic 
illness, another should be in Europe, and he himself should be 
the third. 



METHODS: COMMITTEES 79 

has been wisely said, "Far better one layman who can 
be depended upon to put a certain thing through, 
than a large committee that will not bring things to 
pass." 

When a man is found adapted to the work of a cer- 
tain committee keep him on that committee. As in 
everything else a committeeman becomes more and 
more valuable as he becomes better acquainted with 
his work. 

Committees should be organized, particularly the 
larger ones. Each has to have a chairman and ought 
to have a secretary; some will need also a treasurer. 
Then the committee for the sake of efficiency should 
be divided into subcommittees. In one Association the 
athletic committee is divided into nine subcommittees, 
including subcommittees on baseball, bowling, tennis, 
press, etc. Care should be taken, however, not to or- 
ganize away the efficiency of the members by so sub- 
dividing the work that no one feels any responsibility. 

Readings: Standing Committees. Twentieth Cen- 
tury City Association, A Practical Project, Religious 
Work for Men. 



Methods: Organization 



LESSON VIII. MEMBERSHIP 

When a new association is about to be formed a 
canvass of the city is usually made, and the men who 
wish to undertake this work for young men are or- 
ganized and constitute the charter members of the 
association. Thereafter the membership problem is 
always before the association. 

The membership, in accordance with the Evangelical 
test, is divided into two general classes : Active, those 
who are members of Evangelical Churches, and Asso- 
ciate, men of good moral character who are not 
church members. Nominally, the active members are 
the working force of the association, for they are the 
only ones who can vote and hold office, but as has 
been said, "They are most abstemious in the exercise 
of this privilege." The words of a well-known gen- 
eral secretary are true: "The time has come when 
there is need for a genuine Christian association mem- 
bership. A Republican Club that is made up three- 
fourths of mugwumps is not much of a Republican 
club, and a Christian association that is made up three- 

80 



METHODS: MEMBERSHIP 81 

fourths of men who are not Christians is not much of 
a Christian association. " Sometimes a new member, 
whatever his church relations may be, is asked to state 
whether he wishes to join as an active member, and, 
if he expresses a desire to be really active and is a 
church member he is put in that class, otherwise, 
at his own request he is classed as an associate 
member. 

This distinction between active and associate mem- 
bers has not deterred men from joining the associa- 
tion, as was once feared by some good men. This is 
because the benefits of the association are enjoyed by 
both classes alike, and most members are looking for 
the benefits. 

The editor of a metropolitan journal, after urging 
his fellow citizens to give generously of money and 
effort to the association, adds: "I do not — or would 
not — dodge the fact that these associations were 
founded by evangelicals as they are called. They 
were. And the founders of associations have two 
rights which every one should respect. One is the 
right to control what they have founded and estab- 
lished. The other is the right to grow. Both rights 
have been respected in the associations. No line 
against benefits is drawn. Membership, libraries, 
classes, gymnasiums are open to all cleanly, orderly 
and right-minded folk. A Protestant is not more wel- 
come than a Roman Catholic ; nor is either more wel- 
come than a Unitarian or Jew. The unity of hu- 
manity is recognized. The kinship of want is ac- 



&2 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

knowledged. The cousinship of all noble aspirations 
is realized."* 

Men of all faiths and no faith have not hesitated to 
take advantage of the opportunity offered in the 
Young Men's Christian Association. Archbishop Ire- 
land, in making a subscription of $250 to the building 
fund of the St. Paul Association used these words : 
"The Young Men's Christian Association, in its labors 
in St. Paul, so far as my observations permit me to 
judge, has divested itself of sectarian purposes and 
color ; and I am assured by some of the leading mem- 
bers of the association that it is its firm intention to 
continue on these lines. On the other hand, its social 
and moral work among young men is of great and 
undoubted value, and it is deserving of universal sym- 
pathy and encouragement." 

It was once quite common to have life members, 
men who paid a comparatively large sum, and from 
whom nothing more was expected. But this practice 
has been very generally abandoned, and now mem- 
bers join the association and pay annual dues. 

In some associations all who join the association, 
whether men or boys, are classed as members, no dis- 
tinction being made on account of age; the only dis- 
tinction being in privileges used. The boy of fifteen 
is as truly a member as the man of thirty. But usually 
there is a junior and senior membership. 

Those who connect themselves with the association 
contribute a certain proportion of the expense of main- 



*Relation to the Churches, p. 30. 



ME THODS: MEMBERSHIP 83 

tenance, sometimes paying a fixed sum, but very 
often, especially in the large cities, paying a certain 
fixed sum for membership, and then an additional 
''privilege fee," as it is sometimes called, for such 
privileges as they wish to enjoy and which are not 
granted for the membership fee. Some associations 
limit the use of the building to members, in this re- 
spect resembling the social club, and permitting mem- 
bers to introduce guests. 

The member who merely pays the membership fee 
usually has such privileges as the use of the reading 
room, social and game rooms, library, etc. ; he pays in 
addition for gymnasium, educational classes, etc. 

The method of paying dues varies. In our large 
city associations the fee is quite an item in the expense 
account of a young man, and therefore, partial pay- 
ments are accepted, as, one-half in cash and the bal- 
ance in sixty days ; or equal quarterly payments, a dis- 
count being made if the whole fee is paid in cash. 
Where partial payments are accepted it is usual to 
take the member's note for the balance. It is hardly 
necessary to say that such a note if made by a minor 
is of no legal value ; but it is argued that men are 
more apt to meet their promises if embodied in this 
form. 

Some associations on the other hand argue that 
, partial payments lead young men to buy what they 
cannot pay for and this tends to cultivate the bad 
habit of extravagance. 

These annual fees are not fixed by the Constitution. 
The better plan being to provide that the Board 



84 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

may fix them from time to time as circumstances 
require. 

One of the serious problems of the association is the 
retention of members. It is said that the membership 
changes once in three years. This is due to many 
causes. Men move away, they have attained the edu- 
cation they sought, the novelty wears off, etc. We 
should do all that we can to cultivate the idea that 
the membership is permanent, although the dues are 
annual. The association has been criticised for treat- 
ing men as annual members. One worker has said : 
"They join for a year. In fact, the member is noti- 
fied at the end of a year that his membership has 
ceased, whereas his fee should be renewable, his mem- 
bership should have the air of permanency. Every- 
thing should be done to impress the member with the 
idea of permanency. In some places a sliding scale 
of membership fee is used, made favorable to the con- 
tinued member: initial fee, $15; second year, $13; 
next year, $12 ; next, $11, then $10, where it remains." 
If he lapses he has to begin again at $15.* 

Care should be taken in the notice sent to members 
concerning their dues. A good form is, "Permit us to 
inform you that your membership dues will be renew- 
able on the above date, etc." In one association such 
a notice is followed by a letter, saying : "We recently 
notified you that your membership fee in this associa- 
tion was due, but failing to receive a reply we infer 
that the notice did not reach you, or has been over- 



*Association Men, May, 1908. 



METHODS: MEMBERSHIP 85 

looked, and trust you will pardon this further refer- 
ence to the matter. We hope that you have enjoyed 
your connection with the association and that you will 
decide to continue your membership." 

This method of treatment makes a man feel that 
the association is really interested in him. 

Something should be done to introduce new mem- 
bers and make them feel at home. This is sometimes 
done by holding at certain intervals a simple supper 
for the new members, followed by a social gathering. 

Many associations have Honorary Members. The 
privileges of the Association are conferred upon those 
whom the Association wishes to honor, e. g., pastors 
of churches, teachers of classes, et al. 

Recognition of Membership in Other Associations 

While each association must decide the matter for 
itself, it is customary for one local association to rec- 
ognize as a member the man who holds a membership 
in some other association. In railroad associations 
this is universal : a member of one association is wel- 
comed as a member by any other railroad association. 
This is due in large part to the fact that the member- 
ship of such associations is made up of one particular 
class : railroad men. 

Among city associations the general rule is to issue 
a membership ticket to the member of a sister asso- 
ciation, giving the new member credit on his member- 
ship fee, for the value of his unexpired ticket. 



86 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 



The Active Member 

The active membership is the group from which our 
officers and committees come. It ought to be the army 
which the general secretary is leading. Unfortunately 
many of those who are eligible to active member- 
ship are active in name only. This is one of the 
serious problems in our work, and for two reasons. 
The first one has been well stated by an incisive writer 
referring to the adoption of the Paris Basis in 1855, 
"It is interesting to observe how we in America find 
after fifty years that church membership does not 
make any appreciable difference in the life, character 
or conduct of men who hold formal relation to the 
church." This is too often true. So many who are 
eligible to active membership because of church mem- 
bership do not live the lives which such connection 
implies ; how then can they be of much use in the 
Association ? 

The other reason is that so many who are really con- 
sistent church members do not take any active part 
in the work of the Association. 

And so it comes about that the membership meeting 
is passing away ; there is no longer the esprit de corps 
which it was fondly hoped would exist among men 
banded together for such purposes as those we have. 
The reason at the bottom of it is not far to seek ; it 
could be stated in one word: selfishness. Men, even 
Christian men, come to the Association for what they 
can get, not for what they can give. Instead of mak- 



METHODS: MEMBERSHIP 87 

ing it their field of service they make it their place of 
mere enjoyment. 

A writer in Association Men tells how he saw in 
San Francisco a large safe "in which the valuables 
of a firm of seven Chinamen were kept. There were 
seven distinct locks upon the safe, and every one of 
the seven had to be there with his key each time the 
safe was opened and closed. The regular attendance 
of the members of the firm upon the opening and 
closing of the safe might have been mistaken for 
very close fraternal relations." 

This will not change much until men realize their 
responsibility one to the other, until they know that 
they are their brother's keeper. 

But we have in our Associations these so-called 
active members ; they are church members and they 
have joined our organization. What is to be done 
with them? Certainly we cannot leave them alone. 
We depend upon them. We must take hold of them. 
They must be trained and taught. 

In order to properly train and teach, we must 
know something about the individual member. One 
Association sends a blank to the pastor of the new 
member's church, in which they ask questions such 
as the following: How active is he in Christian serv- 
ice? Is he a member of a young men's Bible Class? 
Is he interested in other men? Is he tactful and 
cordial ? Has he any special interests or qualifications 
which may be made to contribute to his usefulness 
among men or boys, such as athletics, music, talents 
as entertainer, etc. ? 



88 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

Much of this teaching and training must be done by 
the general secretary. Some can be done by the 
president of the Association and the chairmen of com- 
mittees. I believe the best method is to get these 
men into the Association Bible classes and let them 
learn there something about personal responsibility 
as they study God's Word. Then they will become 
active indeed. "The word of God is alive." 

The Hand Book published some years ago makes 
some good suggestions on this subject, speaking of 
the development of the active members : — 

(i) Get hold of them. This means that the secre- 
tary and others must be on the lookout for likely 
men. Here is a man from your town away at college. 
He has been prominent in the Student Association, 
and is coming home. Before he gets tied up in other 
things give him something to do in the Association 
and win his confidence. 

Many a young man to-day is grateful to the presi- 
dent or general secretary of an Association because 
just as he was giving up his college life with all its 
delightful surroundings, and coming into what is to 
him a different world, the wise president or secretary 
has put him at some congenial work in the local 
Association that has anchored him in God's service. 

(2) Inform and interest them. Many of these men, 
especially the young men, either know nothing about 
the Association or else have wrong notions about it. 
They need to be told ; and they need to have their 
interest aroused. I remember very well how when I 
came back to my town from college, with the college 



METHODS: MEMBERSHIP 89 

man's good opinion of his own literary ability, the 
president of our Association wrote to me telling me 
about what they were doing, and how much they 
needed some one who would take hold of their little 
paper and edit it. It was the one side on which ap- 
proach to me was easy and he came up on that side. 
I was interested at once. I took hold of the editor- 
ship, and in order to make the paper go I had to know 
what was going on. So I was led to study the work 
and a very small interest soon grew to be very great. 
Many such cases as this might be cited. Pick out 
your man, inform him and interest him. 

(3) Give him something to do. I have already 
spoken of this, but it needs emphasis. A man does 
not like to go up to the president of the Association 
and say: "I'm a great bass singer; I can help you 
with your music," or, "I am very genial and tactful; 
I could make your social work a success." Men do 
not go at it in that way. But when the secretary 
discovers that a man can sing, put him to singing; 
when he finds he is genial and tactful, put him at work 
on the social committee. Give your embryo active 
member some definite work to do. 

(4) Instruct and encourage. The necessity of in- 
struction is well known. And in these days of sum- 
mer institutes much instruction can be given. But 
the instruction referred to here is that which the 
ordinary member can get in the Association itself, 
from the secretary and others. It can be supplied in 
many ways. Get the member to read helpful articles, 
lend him the Hand Book with passages marked. 



90 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

And the second part of this suggestion, though often 
overlooked, is as important as the first: Encourage 
them. Aldrich's story, "For Bravery on the Field 
of Battle," is too true. An old worn-out soldier who 
had become a shoemaker was found starved to death 
in his hovel, wearing on his breast a medal bearing 
those words. Nobody thought to encourage him for 
his work as a soldier by giving him work to do in his 
need. If you have a member who has proved himself 
active let him know that his efforts are appreciated. 
Do not wait until he passes away and then at some 
funeral service cry aloud his virtues. 

Remember we are teaching and training these active 
members not only for work in the Association, but if 
we are true to our profession, we are also qualifying 
them for better service in the church. 

New blood is needed. We should be constantly 
enlisting new men. The older ones do their work 
well, but this is a Young Mens Christian Association. 
The older active members are the very ones to intro- 
duce and train their successors. Let it be done more 
and more. 



Methods: Organization 

LESSON IX. THE EMPLOYED OFFICER 

Characteristics 

Any one who attempts to offer suggestions concern- 
ing this office must first apologize to Dr. L. L. Dog- 
gett, whose monograph, The Secretaryship of the 
Young Men's Christian Association as a Life Work, 
must always stand as a scholarly exposition of this 
high office. And it must seem especially presumptuous 
for a layman to attempt this subject with Dr. Doggett's 
able paper before him. But no treatment of the Prin- 
ciples and Methods of Association Work could be 
complete with the employed officer left out. This 
must be the author's excuse for adding to the literature 
of the subject. 

All that is said here applies especially to the em- 
ployed officer who occupies the position of general 
secretary, but the suggestions are intended for physi- 
cal directors, membership secretaries, religious work 
directors, and all other men who are serving the 
Association as their life work. Not everything will 
apply to each one, yet in a general way what is true 
for one office is true for another. 

91 



92 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

There can be no doubt that the general secretary 
is the controlling force in the Association to-day. 
The Association is judged by the secretary. A well 
known minister on being asked, "What do you think 
of the Y. M. C. A.?" answered, "That depends on 
the secretary." He is the point at which the Associ- 
ation and outsiders touch. Dr. James M. Buckley 
at the Niagara Conference said, speaking of his in- 
vestigation, "Abundant evidence was furnished that 
the character and work of the Association depends 
largely upon the secretary and the executive commit- 
tee." At the same conference Mr. Ernest H. Abbott 
said, speaking of this officer, "His hope, his faith, 
his charity, his thoughts, his beliefs, his conduct, his 
manner, his appearance constitute the traits which 
first are attributed to the Association and then are 
fixed upon it." And the same speaker said on another 
occasion: "It is this body of employed officers which 
now really constitutes the Y. M. C. A. throughout the 
land. * * * The character of the association is 
derived almost altogether from the character of the 
employed officers, its prosperity due almost entirely to 
their efforts, its limitations are their limitations." 

While much that is said must be along lines already 
treated by Dr. Doggett and others, yet the manner of 
the treatment here will perhaps be different from the 
course pursued by others, for our aim here is to 
consider the employed officer as a part of the work- 
ing Association. 

One thing should ever be remembered: not every 
man can be a general secretary or physical director of 



METHODS: THE EMPLOYED OFFICER 93 

the Young Men's Christian Association. I should feel 
like saying to those contemplating the work what a 
professor in a theological seminary is reported to 
have said to his class, "Don't be ministers if you can 
help it." What he meant was that no man should 
go into the ministry unless he felt that there was no 
other work on earth to which he, with his qualifi- 
cations, could afford to give his life. So it ought to 
be with the secretaryship ; A man "should feel the pull 
of the job." 

As President Eliot, of Harvard, put it: "When the 
revelation of his own peculiar tastes and capacities 
comes to a young man, let him reverently give it wel- 
come, thank God, and take courage. Thereafter he 
knows his way to happy, enthusiastic work, and, God 
willing, to usefulness and success." 

The office of the general secretary has been pretty 
well defined. He is the executive officer of the Associ- 
ation, which acts through him more than any other 
agent. He is the administrative officer. He is to the 
Association what a general is to an army, while the 
president of the Association might be said to occupy 
the same position towards the Association which the 
President of the United States occupies towards the 
United States army. 

Men are coming to realize the greatness of the 
office. One of our great secretaries once put it this 
way: "To hopefully undertake these constructive 
movements, there must be some one, who is himself 
a master of the problems, so masterful that his own 
initiative has such a contagious development that num- 



94 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

bers of men catch the spirit of enterprise, devote them- 
selves to the propaganda, and carry it on to other 
men, until one shall choose a thousand and two put ten 
thousand to flight. That man, need I say it, must 
be the secretary. The knowledge, the vision, the 
leadership rest with him, if our organizations are to 
accept the opportunity which providence has flung 
in their way." 

After the death of the author of these words, a 
writer in The Outlook spoke of him in words which 
showed how fully he lived up to his own ideal secre- 
tary:* 

"To most readers of The Outlook Mr. Shurtleff's 
name is unknown. They will ask, Who was he? A 
great jurist? A diplomat in the foreign service of the 
nation? The president of some university? He might 
have been any one of these, but he was not. He was 
the Secretary of the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion of Cleveland. Why is it that this answer seems 
a disappointment? Why is it that it seems altogether 
incommensurate with the service he rendered? Is it 
not because religious leaders, clerical and lay, have 
not as a rule seen in their positions, as Mr. Shurtleff 
did in his, the opportunity for as great, as extended, 
as statesmanlike leadership as they see on the bench, 
in the diplomatic service or in the headship of a 
university ? 

Mr. Shurtleff was a statesman in religion. In the 
first place, no man in the country had more clearly 



*The Outlook, Jan. 23, 1909. . 



METHODS: THE EMPLOYED OFFICER 95 

diagnosed the ills of society. He was not content with 
the treatment of the superficial hurts of men ; he 
looked to find the fundamental wrongs. While other 
men were satisfied to exhort drunkards to reform, he 
searched to find the forces that made drunkards. 
While other men were satisfied to oppose skepticism, 
he searched to find the forces that stole from men 
their faith. While other men were satisfied to ease 
a man here and there from the discomforts of 
poverty, he searched for the wrongs or defects in 
society that made countless families poor. As a leader 
in the Young Men's Christian Association he was 
fearless, indefatigable, masterful, and quiet. He was 
only the head of one city Association ; but he had the 
power and authority of a national officer." 

1. General Characteristics 

Let us keep in mind that this is a life work. Men 
have served long enough now to prove this. 1 never 
felt this to be so true as when one day I attended the 
celebration of the seventieth birthday of a working 
secretary. And let it be said once for all that no man 
has yet appeared too big for the office. At the Niagara 
Conference Mr. Abbott said : "The general secretary 
has the opportunity of being to the modern city what 
in the early Christian ages the metropolitan bishops 
were, or more exactly, the metropolitan head of a 
great lay order. He ought to have a grip upon all 
the beneficent forces of the city ; he ought to guide 
the social movements of the city; he ought to bear 



96 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

to the kingdom of God the same relation that the 
mayor of a city bears to the nation." Is any man too 
good or great for such an office? 

(i) Originality. We are getting now a much 
higher grade of men in the secretaryship than for- 
merly, but still there is room. Few of our secre- 
taries are thinkers ; few are students ; many-sided men 
are scarce. Yet originality is the characteristic of 
great general secretaries. They have been the ones 
to pioneer the way. They have seen the need and 
have been able to suggest the plans to meet the need. 
One has only to read the lives of McBurney, Hall and 
See to realize how true this is. 

Men of originality are men with imagination. 
Napoleon said : "Imagination rules the world." Such 
men are men who see things which others do not see. 
"We have all watched children go scuffling along to 
school," says a recent writer, "stubbing their toes at 
every step, and it meant nothing to us. But one day 
an imaginative man watched them, and saw the effect 
of putting a thin strip of copper across the toe of the 
boy's foot. The world gave him a million dollars." 

It was Carlyle who said : "Truly a thinking man is 
the worst enemy the Prince of Darkness can have." 

In an address to men fitting themselves for Associa- 
tion work, Mr. Abbott said : 

"The quality of work a man does depends in the 
first instance on the way in which he thinks of his 
own calling. If he regards his position as that of a 
menial, let him be never so conscientious, his work 
will be menial. There is no limitation so confining as 



METHODS: THE EMPLOYED OFFICER 97 

that which a man may set for himself. Your future 
efficiency will therefore depend first of all upon your 
conception of the office for which you have been 
making preparation. There are many men, I have 
reason to believe, who have been led into the calling 
of the association secretaryship by saying to them- 
selves: *I want to do some kind of religious work. 
I have been helped beyond measure by the religion 
of Christ, and now I should like to impart that religion 
to others. But I can't very well become a minister, 
I haven't the education, or I haven't a gift for dignified 
public address, or I haven't the money to spend in a 
course of collegiate and theological training or I 
don't want to spend time in a long preparation. I'm 
not intellectual ; I'm practical. I'm no student : I want 
to do things. The secretaryship doesn't require any 
special intellectual qualifications, so I think I'll become 
a Y. M. C. A. secretary. 

"Most of the men whose associates you are to be 
are serious, energetic, conscientious, but among them 
is only here and there one who is doing more than 
the usual conventional routine work of a subordinate. 
It is the rare man among them who is a leader in his 
community ; and that is because it is the rare man who 
has thought out what he wants to do, who has care- 
fully by broad thinking conceived a plan, an ideal ac- 
cording to which he is undertaking to build." 

(2) Honesty. This is an old-fashioned trait, but 
it cannot be omitted. The general secretary must be 
honest in the first place with the public, in his reports, 
statements, etc. I remember a secretary who reported 



98 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

eighty-one conversions during the year, only one of 
whom had united with the church. Investigations 
showed that eighty of the so-called converts were 
men in the county jail, who apparently had requested 
prayer on the promise of getting a Bible. * They could 
not get out to unite with the church ! 

In the second place the secretary should be honest 
in his personal matters. Let him keep his own money 
matters entirely distinct from those of the Association ; 
let him not pay Association bills with his money and 
then collect from the Association. More than one 
apparently prosperous secretary has been wrecked on 
this rock. 

(3) Positiveness. We need men of strong charac- 
ter, so that they may impress themselves upon the 
members. President King, of Oberlin, says, "We 
know but one absolutely certain way to make char- 
acter and that is through a surrendering, persistent as- 
sociation with those who have such a character as 
we seek." And this is why Mr. Abbott is right 
when he criticises "the anaemic young fellows with the 
stereotyped smile and conventional handshake," 
who is found, he says, in too many of our 
Associations. 

(4) Ability to lead. It goes without saying that the 
executive officer must have executive ability — leader- 
ship is of the same class. It seems to be born in men, 
and is difficult of cultivation. 

"Maintaining the entire Association membership as 
a working force is the whole duty of the secretary," 
is the way one writer puts it. 



METHODS: THE EMPLOYED OFFICER 99 

Ability to lead includes the faculty of discovering 
men and ability to train them when found. 

(5) Optimistic nature. No one wins battles if he 
expects defeat. Some men go through life always dis- 
appointed when things turn out right. The man who 
is helpful is the man who is disappointed if things do 
not turn out right. There are many discouragements 
in the Association work; the general secretary must 
be so constituted that through them all and in spite 
of them all he can remain cheerful. 

A secretary of a student association said of his 
fellow secretaries : "We must live joyful, rich, vivid 
lives, not only for ourselves but for our friends. We 
bless the world by being happy, full of dash and vim, 
ready for any enterprise, alert for the new idea or the 
new application of an old one." 

A picture appeared in Life of a man at a one-horse 
railway station looking at the departure of the only 
train for that day and saying, "Well, I almost caught 
you." He was an optimist. 

(6) Belief in his work. This should be strong and 
abiding. If a man is constantly wondering whether 
this is really the greatest work in the world he will 
do little at it. I remember hearing a successful secre- 
tary of large experience present the general secretary- 
ship as a life work on Round Top at Northfield. I 
am sure that those who heard him were convinced 
that his success was due in part at least to his belief 
in the greatness of his chosen life work. 

Subsequently this same man wrote, "A mighty belief 
is essential to hearty endeavor. This is not the age 



iod PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

for the duplication of religious organizations. The 
secretary must, therefore, believe that the Association 
has a divine mission. With enthusiasm and knowl- 
edge based on study of the history of the movement 
and the conditions surrounding young men, the secre- 
tary with energy and courage should lead the Associa- 
tion in securing positive results." 

(7) Definite Ideas of what the Association is try- 
ing to do. This may seem a strange characteristic to 
line up with these others, but no man in any field can 
do his work well unless he knows exactly what he is 
trying to do. I fear many of our secretaries have 
very hazy notions of their work. If they should take 
a sheet of paper and try to put down in black and 
white what they propose to accomplish this year they 
would find it a troublesome task. And yet it ought 
to be possible, and it can be. 

(8) Spirituality. All these other characteristics 
ought to exist in men spiritually minded, for it mat- 
ters little what qualifications a secretary has he can- 
not lead in spiritual things unless he himself is spir- 
itual. This is a quality which, unlike some others, 
can be cultivated, though some natures are more con- 
genial to it than others. 



Methods: Organization 



LESSON X. THE EMPLOYED OFFICER— 
Personal Life 

2. Duties 

I wish under this head to point out some duties 
other than those which pertain to the office. The 
regular duties of the general secretary hardly come 
within the scope of these studies ; besides, they are 
well known. The Twentieth Century Constitution 
suggested by the International Committee, says that 
"He shall have general oversight, under the Board of 
Directors, of all the work of the Association ; he shall 
labor to enlist the members in active Christian work, 
and discharge such other duties as the board may 
require." The duties of which I wish to speak are 
rather those which he owes to himself as he seeks to 
fit himself for his life work. 

(i) To study the Bible. This does not refer to the 
study he does for teaching, but to study for personal 
growth. The two things are quite different. No man 
has remained strong in the Christian life who has 
not been nourished by the Word of God. There is 

IOI 



102 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

no substitute for it, and it is idle to seek it in de- 
votional books, however good they may be. It re- 
quires regularity, just as the nourishing of the body 
requires regularity in partaking of food. It takes 
time, but so does sleep, and one is as necessary as the 
other. 

He must equip himself to lead in spiritual things. 

(2) To pray. In Bible study God talks with us; 
prayer is the other part of the communion, we talk 
with God. No secretary can do his work unless Jie is 
a man of prayer. Constant association with Jesus 
Christ is the way of power. The secretary must be 
like Him whatever else he is. Phillips Brooks was a 
great admirer of Abraham Lincoln; he went to see 
him, he read his words and tried in every way to 
enter into Lincoln's inner being, till at last the great 
President through this association with Brooks ac- 
tually molded Brooks' life ; so that Bishop Brooks' bio- 
grapher could say that Brooks in describing Lincoln 
was unconsciously describing himself. So the secre- 
tary by his fellowship with Jesus will become like 
Him, and will be able to manifest His glory to the 
men about him. 

(3) To read. One of the speakers at the Niagara 
Conference said, "Most Association secretaries are 
intellectually ill-equipped for their work." Bible study 
and prayer will do much for a man, but God has 
given us minds, and in acquiring knowledge He ex- 
pects us to use the faculties He has given us. 

In preparing these studies I wrote to ten ordinary 
general secretaries, asking each to name two books 



METHODS: THE EMPLOYED OFFICER 103 

which he had read during the preceding twelve months 
that had helped him in his work as a secretary. It 
was interesting to learn that the books read were the 
ordinary devotional books which might have been read 
profitably by a man or woman engaged in any form 
of Christian work, or engaged in no distinctively 
Christian work. Not one of them was distinctly help- 
ful to a secretary of a Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion. Then I sent to ten leading secretaries asking 
the same questions. They answered with a lot of 
books, such as Adolescence, Life of Quintin Hogg, 
A Young Man's Questions, etc., books that made them 
not only better Christians but better secretaries. 

If the secretary is going to keep up with the times 
he must read. "In this disregard of the intellectual 
life lies one reason for the failure of the Associations 
to win the co-operation of college-bred men." 

(4) To cultivate manners. Some one has said, 
"Next to personality I would place manners and taste 
as a cause affecting efficiency" in a general secretary. 
I remember a conversation I once had with McBurney. 
A well-known secretary from abroad had just been 
to visit him and he was disgusted with the man's 
slovenly appearance. The Association is judged by 
the appearance and manner and taste of the secretary. 
The building will not be any more attractive as to 
cleanliness than the secretary is himself. 

Failure to show the ordinary courtesies of life in- 
jures the Association with which the secretary is con- 
nected ; e. g., failure to pay expenses of speakers or 
to write thanking one who has rendered a service. 



104 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

(5) To visit. I once heard a well-known Sunday- 
school man give a talk on "Old-fogy Superintendents/' 
His first sign of old-fogyism was that "he was always 
in his place.'' This showed that he was behind the 
times, the speaker said, because he should sometimes 
be away, visiting other schools for suggestions. So 
with the secretary, he ought to visit other Associa- 
tions, conferences, conventions, and similar gatherings 
where he can rub up against other men, learn new 
things and correct his own faults. 

(6) To take vacations. The well-known physical 
director, Robert J. Roberts, recently said of the kind 
of vacations men should take, — 

"A little daily one, 
A little longer weekly one, 
A still longer monthly one, 
And a month or so once a year." 

This is good advice. A secretary ought certainly 
to have some time to himself each day, as men in other 
lines of work do; he cannot work from nine in the 
morning until ten or eleven o'clock at night and do 
good work. Every secretary ought to have one day 
in seven for rest; if it can not be Sunday, it must be 
some day. I know one Association where the board 
of directors passed a resolution that the secretary 
should be away from the building twenty-four con- 
secutive hours each week. 

The secretary has home duties, and God never in- 
tended Christian work to interfere with the home. 
"A secretary who has a wife is more than a secretary, 



METHODS: THE EMPLOYED OFFICER 105 

he is a husband; the secretary who has children is 
more than a secretary, he is a father." No man can 
be all that he ought to be without the home, and no 
secretary with a home can afford to miss its influence 
upon him and his Association work. 

(7) To find men. It has ever been true that the 
efficient secretary has been the one who is constantly 
turning- men towards the secretaryship. Read the 
life of George A. Hall, who for so many years served 
as State Secretary of New York, and see how many 
men he led into the service of the Association. It is 
said that Shurtleff led one hundred men into the work. 



3. Things to Avoid 

(1) Politics. Every secretary should be a good 
citizen, and therefore he cannot entirely avoid politics. 
But he can avoid party politics. All parties will be 
represented in the Association and he wants to be 
on good terms with all. Active participation in the 
campaign for any party would injure his influence 
with members of other parties. But he should exer- 
cise the franchise. All respect a man who does his 
duty as a voter. Of course this implies that he cannot 
run for office. Oftentimes though a secretary can 
accept a semi-political office. One of our best-known 
secretaries was appointed a jury commissioner of his 
city. This enabled him to render a real service to the 
men of his city by seeing to it that only good men 
were put on the lists from which the juries were 
drawn. 



106 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

(2) Lodges. The reason for this suggestion is that 
there are usually too many lodges to join them all, 
and joining any one of them may interfere with the 
secretary's usefulness towards members of the others. 
Besides there is on the part of some an honest prej- 
udice against secret societies which might as well be 
avoided. 

(3) Church work. This may seem strange at first, 
but with the work a secretary has in the Association 
he cannot give very much time and strength to his 
church. Far better that he should devote himself to 
training men for church work than that he should give 
himself to the work of any one church. Of course 
he should be connected with some church in the com- 
munity and should support it loyally, attending its 
services and in every way helping it. But he cannot 
in justice to his other work, which is for the church, 
take important offices in church or Sunday-school. 

(4) Doing too much himself. It is often so much 
easier to do a thing yourself than to bother to get 
some one else to do it. But not in this way can a 
general secretary train young men in Christian work. 

(5) Moving too often. There is not so much ten- 
dency now as formerly for secretaries to move on, but 
still the work suffers from too frequent change. Of 
course there are misfits and men must change, but 
changing secretaries causes a considerable loss to an 
Association every time it occurs. 

(6) Staying too long in one place. This is the 
other side of the former danger. It is not often found, 
but there can be such a thing as a man outgrowing 



METHODS: THE EMPLOYED OFFICER 107 

his usefulness — going stale, as the athletes say. Every 
secretary ought to welcome the friend who will tell 
him the truth about this, and he ought to be glad 
to make way for his successor in order that the work 
may go forward. 

There is a tendency on the part of men who have 
been long in one place to be satisfied with past 
achievements. Dr. Doggett has said: "There are a 
good many leaders in Association work who are con- 
tent with what they have already done, who will 
wake up in a few years to find the procession has 
moved on, and in the language of the street, 'they 
are not in it,' and they will wonder why. The answer 
is, they have failed to grow." 

But after all, these characteristics and duties and 
things to avoid can only be referred to in the most 
general way. Above all, the secretary must be an 
inspirer of the men about him. Most secretaries un- 
fortunately are "slaves of routine." They are cum- 
bered with much serving. They do not take time for 
the big things of their office. "Truth is contagious 
through personality." 

A writer in Association Men tells this story of one 
who inspired men : 

"One day I stopped after the close of a shop meet- 
ing to talk to the superintendent after the men had re- 
turned to work. As we stood there he said : T used 
to belong to the Young Men's Christian Association. 
You would not think it, but I used to be a member of 
the old New York association, and, say, that secre- 
tary was a good one. I can't remember his name, 



108 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

but he was a 'hummer.' I went in there one night 
and he showed me around the place and got me to 
join, and then asked me to serve on some committee 
which looks after the fellows when they come in, 
and show 'em around the building. I guess there 
wasn't anybody on the job that night when I came in, 
so he took me around himself. Well, along about 
10: 30 he asked me to go back to a room to meet with 
some fellows on the committee, and, say, I never heard 
a man pray before or since like that man. It seemed 
as if he were talking to a real person who was the 
Boss of every one of us, and he talked as if he 
knew Him mighty well, too." Again Robert Mc- 
Burney had unconsciously made an impression upon 
the heart and mind of a man which was vivid and real 
many years after his name and what he said were 
forgotten."* 

Readings: — The General Secretary. The Board and 
the Secretary. The Association Secretaryship. The 
Secretaryship of the Young Men's Christian Associa^ 
Hon as a Life Work. Memorial of George A. Hall. 
Memorial of Horace William Rose. Life of Robert 
McBurney. Bible Study for Personal Spiritual 
Growth. 



^Association Men, May, 1909. 



Bibliography for Course on Association Prin- 
ciples. 

(These books may be secured through the International 
Committee, 124 East Twenty-eighth Street, New York.) 

Fifty Years of Federation. R. C. Morse $ .65 

Life of Robert R. McBurney. L. L. Doggett 1.50 

History of the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion. L. L. Doggett 1. 00 

The Association and the Churches. R. J. Mc- 

Bryde 03 

Twentieth Century City Association. C. S. Ward .05 

Association for the Times. F. S. Goodman 05 

Why for Young Men Exclusively. T. G. Darling .02 
Jubilee of Work for Young Men in North 

America (Boston Convention Report) 1.00 

Standing Committees of the Association (Hand 

Book)) 05 

The Board and the Secretary. J. F. Robinson .. .02 
The Secretaryship of the Young Men's Christian 

Association as a Life Work. L. L. Doggett .10 
Memorial of George Alonzo Hall. George A. 

Warburton , 83 

Memorial of Horace William Rose. Harry Wade 

Hicks 65 

Bible Study for Personal Spiritual Growth. John 

R. Mott 05 

Life of Edwin F. See. Warburton 75 

Working Together 40 

Religious Work for Men, Principles and Methods .50 
Mountain Lake Park Papers. See Ehler, Good- 
man. 

109 



no PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

The Social Spirit. George J. Fisher 10 

Social Work. Wood, Leonard, Warburton 10 

Life of Sir George Williams 1.25 

Social Activities for Men and Boys. A. M. 

Chesley. 
Evangelism Through Bible Study. F. S. Good- 
man 25 

Starting to Teach. Eugene C. Foster 40 

Taking Men Alive. C. G. Trumbull 40 pa. .60 

Teaching Bible Classes See 40 pa. .60 

Social Element. E. F. See 15 



Appendix 



MODEL CONSTITUTION 

(From "Twentieth Century City Young Men's Chris- 
tian Association," Y. M. C. A. Press, New York.) 

ARTICLE I 

NAME AND OBJECT 

Section J. The name of this society shall be The 
Young Men's Christian Association of — . 

Section 2. The object of this Association is to de- 
velop the Christian character and usefulness of its 
members, and to improve the spiritual, mental, social 
and physical condition of young men. 

ARTICLE II 

MEMBERSHIP 

Section i. Any young man of good moral character 
may become a member upon payment of the annual 
fee. 

ill 



H2 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

Section 2. Male members in good standing in 
evangelical churches, who are eighteen years of age, 
may become active members of this Association. Only 
active members shall have the right to vote and hold 
office. 

Section 3. Boys between the ages of twelve (12) 
and eighteen (18) may be admitted to membership 
on such conditions and with such privileges as the 
Board of Directors may determine. 

Section 4. Any member of this Association may 
propose an applicant for membership, such proposi- 
tion to be made in writing to the membership com- 
mittee. Any applicant reported favorably may be 
elected at a subsequent meeting of the Board of Di- 
rectors by a two-thirds vote of the members present. 

Section 5. The annual fees may be determined by 
the Board of Directors at any regular meeting, sixty 
days' notice having been given of any contemplated 
change. The fees are payable at the office of the 
Association. 

ARTICLE III 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

Section 1. The management of the Association 
shall be vested in a board of fifteen directors. 

Section 2. There shall be an election of directors 
by ballot on the second in January of each 

year, when there shall be chosen directors to fill va- 



MODEL CONSTITUTION 113 

cancies occurring annually in said Board as herein- 
after provided, who shall enter upon office imme- 
diately upon election, and continue for three years, or 
until their successors shall have entered upon the dis- 
charge of their duties ; except that at the first elec- 
tion after the adoption of this Constitution there shall 
be chosen fifteen directors, five of whom shall hold 
office for three years, five for two years, and five for 
one year. The division shall be made by the Board 
at its first meeting. 

Section 3. Not more than five directors may be 
members of the same religious denomination. Should 
an election result in the choice of a greater number, 
the Board shall decide who is to remain. 

Section 4. The Board of Directors shall hold its 
first meeting within the two weeks immediately fol- 
lowing an annual election, when there shall be chosen 
by ballot, from its own number, a President, a Vice- 
President, a Recording Secretary and a Treasurer, 
who shall be the officers of the Association and of the 
Board, and shall hold office for one year, or until their 
successors shall have been elected. 

Section 5. All the officers and directors must be 
active members of the Association. 

Section 6. The Board of Directors shall have 
power to fill all vacancies occurring from any cause in 
any of the offices, including that of director, until the 
next annual meeting thereafter. 



ii4 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 
ARTICLE IV 

DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS 

Section I. The President shall preside at all busi- 
ness meetings of the Association and of the Board; 
shall within the two weeks following the annual elec- 
tion appoint the standing committees, subject to the 
approval of the Board, and shall present in writing at 
the annual meeting of the Association a full report 
of the year's work. He shall be ex-officio a member 
of all committees. 

Section 2. In the absence or inability of the Presi- 
dent his several duties shall devolve upon the Vice- 
President. 

Section 3. The Recording Secretary shall keep the 
minutes of all meetings of the Association and of the 
Board; he shall also notify all officers of their elec- 
tion and all committees of their appointment. 

Section 4. The Treasurer shall receive all moneys 
of the Association, and disburse the same under the 
order of the Board of Directors ; shall keep a full ac- 
count of all moneys received and paid out, and shall 
report the same to the Board at its monthly meet- 
ings and to the Association at the annual meetings, 
and at other times when required. 

Section 5. The General Secretary shall have gen- 
eral oversight, under the Board of Directors, of all 
the work of the Association ; he shall labor to enlist 



MODEL CONSTITUTION 115 

the members in active Christian work, and discharge 
such other duties as the Board may require. He 
shall report monthly to the Board, and shall be ex- 
officio a member of all committees. 

Section 6. The Board of Directors shall hold meet- 
ings at least once every month, and five shall consti- 
tute a quorum. The Board shall have power to em- 
ploy the General Secretary and such assistants as may 
be needed, and to make such rules and by-laws for its 
own government as may be consistent with this Con- 
stitution. 

ARTICLE V 

TRUSTEES 

Section I. All the real property of the Association 
shall vest in a Board of Trustees of nine members, 
who shall manage said property in the interest of the 
Association. Funds received by bequest or for en- 
dowment shall also be held by the Board of Trustees. 

Section 2. This Board shall be composed of the 
President of the Association, ex-ofricio, and eight 
trustees to be elected as follows : At the first meeting 
of the directors after each annual election, they shall 
elect two trustees who shall serve four years, or until 
their successors shall have entered upon their duties ; 
except that at the first election there shall be chosen 
by the Board of Directors eight trustees, two to serve 
for one year, two for two years, two for three years 
and two for four years. 



n6 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 
ARTICLE VI 



STANDING COMMITTEES 



Section I. There shall be the following- Standing- 
Committees, of such number each as the Board of Di- 
rectors shall from time to time direct: 



I 

2 

3 

4 
5 
6 

7 

8 

9 
io 
ii 

12 



Executive. 

Finance. 

Religious Work Department. 

Educational Department. 

Physical Department. 

Social Work Department. 

Boys' Department. 

Women's Committee. 

Membership. 

Auditing. 

Visiting. 

Nominating. 



Section 2. The Executive Committee shall consist 
of the chairmen of the Finance and the Religious 
Work, Educational, Physical and Social Work De- 
partment Committees. A majority of the Executive 
Committee and also of the Finance Committee shall 
be members of the Board of Directors. The Execu- 
tive Committee shall have charge of the administra- 
tion of the affairs of the Association in the intervals 
between Board meetings, and shall consider and ma- 
ture plans for the general work of the Association, 



MODEL CONSTITUTION 117 

conferring with other committees when necessary. 
This committee shall also be responsible for the care 
of the Association building. 

Section 3. The Finance Committee shall devise 
means for obtaining the necessary funds for current 
expenses and plan for the securing of these funds by 
the Board of Directors. The committee shall also 
prepare and submit to the Board at its first meeting 
after the annual election a written estimate of the 
receipts and expenditures for the ensuing year with 
an itemized list of appropriations which, upon approval 
by the Board, shall be the working schedule of ex- 
penses. No obligations beyond the amount thus ap- 
propriated shall be incurred by any officer or commit- 
tee unless authorized by the Board of Directors. 

Section 4. The Religious Work Committee shall 
arrange for and have charge of all the religious work 
of the Association ; shall devise means to enlist therein 
the talents of members and also seek to promote the 
attendance of young men upon church services. 

Section 5. The Educational Committee shall devise 
means for the intellectual improvement of the mem- 
bers by supervising and promoting such agencies as 
the library, reading room, educational lectures and 
practical talks, educational clubs and class work. In 
co-operation with the Educational Director it 
shall plan, unify and conduct the work of the 
department. 

Section 6. The Physical Department Committee 
shall have the care and oversight of the Physical De- 



n8 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

partment, and, in consultation with the Physical Di- 
rector, shall plan its work. 

Section J. The Social Work Committee shall pro- 
vide entertainments and receptions and other means 
to promote social intercourse among the members 
and to secure the social elevation of young men. This 
committee shall also arrange for the public anni- 
versary. 

Section 8. The Membership Committee shall de- 
vise means for maintaining and building up the mem- 
bership of the Association. This committee shall also 
receive all propositions for membership coming to it 
as provided in Section 4 of Article II, and, after 
such inquiry as may be necessary concerning the char- 
acter of each person proposed, shall report in writing 
at a monthly meeting of the Board those recommended 
for election. 

Section 9. The Boys' Department Committee shall 
have the oversight of the organization and work of 
this department. 

Section 10. It shall be the province of the Wom- 
en's Committee to aid in making the rooms attractive, 
to assist in the social work and entertainments, and to 
interest the women of the various churches in the 
work of the Association. 

Section 11. The Auditing Committee shall audit 
the books and accounts of the Treasurer and of all 
other persons and committees handling funds. 

Section 12. The members of the Visiting Commit- 
tee shall officially represent the Board at the social 



MODEL CONSTITUTION 119 

and religious meetings of the Association. They shall 
acquaint themselves with the religious condition of 
the Association and the working of each of the com- 
mittees, and shall report the result of their observa- 
tion to the Board in writing. This committee shall be 
composed of members of the Board, and shall be so 
constituted as to include during each year all the 
members of the Board in rotation, except the Presi- 
dent, each of whom shall be required to serve for one 
month in each year. A schedule of the appointments 
for the year shall be furnished to each director by the 
Recording Secretary. 

Section 13. Written reports shall be made by the 
Executive Committee at the monthly meetings of the 
Board of Directors. Other committees shall report 
quarterly or when required by the Board. All com- 
mittees shall report annually to the Association. 

Section 14. At the regular meeting of the Board 
next preceding the annual election, the President shall 
appoint, subject to its approval, five members of the 
Board, not more than two of whom shall be from 
any one denomination, to nominate members for elec- 
tion to the Board of Directors. Any active member 
of the Association may present in writing, over his 
own signature, to the Nominating Committee, within 
one week after its appointment, the name of any ac- 
tive member for nomination, and no person shall be 
eligible for election as a director unless his name shall 
thus have been submitted to or nominated by said 
Nominating Committee. 



120 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

Section 15. Each committee shall keep a record of 
its meetings and work, and deposit the same with the 
General Secretary. 

Section 16. The President may at any time remove 
a member of any committee, subject to the approval 
of the Board of Directors. 



ARTICLE VII 

DISCIPLINE 

Section 1. For neglect of duty by any officer with- 
out reasonable excuse, or for lapse of membership, 
the Board of Directors may declare his office vacant, 
provided the accused shall have notice and oppor- 
tunity for defense. 

Section 2. The Board of Directors shall have power 
to investigate any charges of disorder or insubordi- 
nation in the rooms or meetings, as well as any case of 
immorality or impropriety on the part of any member 
or persons visiting the rooms or taking part in the 
meetings of the Association. 

Section 3. Such charges shall be made in writing, 
and the Board of Directors, after due investigation, 
shall have power to expel such offenders, or to forbid 
them access to the rooms or meetings, if guilty, or take 
such other action as may be deemed expedient, pro- 
vided the accused shall have notice and opportunity 
to make defense. 



MODEL CONSTITUTION 121 

ARTICLE VIII 

MEETINGS 

Section 1. The annual meeting of the Association 
shall be held on the second in January. 

Section 2. Special meetings may be called by the 
President, or he shall call the same when requested 
in writing by ten active members. 

Section 3. The public anniversary shall be held on 
some Sunday in January, unless otherwise ordered 
by the Board of Directors. 

Section 4. Ten members shall constitute a quorum 
for any Association meeting. 

Section 5. Denominational controversy shall not 
be permitted at any of the meetings of the Associa- 
tion. 

ARTICLE IX 

AMENDMENTS 

Amendments to the Constitution can only be 
adopted by a two-thirds vote of all the active members 
present at a regular meeting of the Association, such 
amendments having been proposed at a previous regu- 
lar meeting ; they must also be approved by the formal 
action of the Board of Directors. 



122 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

BY-LAWS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

Section i. The regular meetings of the Board of 
Directors shall be held on the first evening of each 
month. 

Section 2. Special meetings shall be called by the 
Recording Secretary, at the request of the President, 
or upon a written request of three directors. 

Section 3. All meetings of the Board shall be 
opened with prayer, and the order of business shall 
be as follows : 



Calling of roll. 

Reading minutes of previous meeting. 

Election of applicants for membership. 

Report of the Treasurer. 

Report of the General Secretary. 

Reports of committees. 

Unfinished business. 

Miscellaneous business. 

General discussion of Association interests. 



Section 4. All reports of officers and committees 
shall be made in writing, and afterwards be filed with 
the General Secretary. 

Section 5. These By-Laws may be amended by a 
two-thirds vote of all the directors present at a regu- 
lar meeting, provided notice of a proposed amendment 
shall have been given in writing at a previous regu- 
lar meeting. 



INDEX 



Abbott, E. H., quoted 92, 94, 96 

Active member 80, 86 

In Boston Constitution 12 

Discussion about 13 

Detroit Convention 13 

Portland Convention 14 

Trained 87 

Controls 111,113 

Advisory Board 71 

Aim of Association 28, 31, 32 

Diagram illustrating 31 

Apostles' Creed of Y. M. C. A 9 

Associate member 75, 80 

Bibliography 109 

Boards of Association 60 

Directors 60, 112 

Trustees 70, 115 

Advisory 71 

Boards of Directors 60, 112 

How elected 60 

Kind of men 61 

From different churches 64 

Duties 65 

Organization of 67 

Officers of 67 

By-laws of 112 

Board of Trustees 70, 115 

Organization of 115 

Books on Association Work in 

Boston Y. M. C. A 8 

Organized 8 

Constitution quoted 12 

Christian Brethren 24 

123 



124 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

Brainerd, Cephas 13 

Bronxville Conference 33, 42 

Buddhists' Associations -. 23 

Buffalo Convention, action of 55 

By-laws of Board of Directors 112 

Chicago Constitution, quoted 25, 71 

Christian Brethren, Boston 24 

Church and Association 23, 38, 40 

Relation to , 139 

Action in 1866 40 

Club, social and Y. M. C. A 33, 42 

Committees ...73, 76, 116 

Appointed by president 68 

Nominating 60, 119 

Executive 76, 116 

Finance 117 

Organization of .. 79 

See Constitution. 

Committee of Twenty-one 55 

Committee of Washington Convention 19 

Report of 19 

Constitution, model in 

Conventions. 

Paris, 1855 • .9 

Paris, 1905 , 10 

Montreal, 1867 12, 43 

Detroit, 1868 13 

Portland, Me., 1869 14 

Philadelphia, 1889 16 

Kansas City, 1891 18 

Grand Rapids, 1899 , . . .54 

Boston, 1901 55 

Washington, 1907 18 

Representations at 16 

Cooper, W. K., quoted 48 

Detroit Convention 13 

Doggett, L. L., quoted 91 

Dues, Amount of 84, 112 

How paid 83 

Eliott, Pres., quoted 93 

Employed officer 91 

His office 93 

Characteristics 95 

Personal life 101 

Things to avoid 105 



INDEX 125 

Evangelical, defined IS 

Definition, quoted 19 

Committee to define 21 

Evangelical test 8 

Quoted 11, 14 19 

In model constitution 24, 121 

Origin of 8, 12 

Adopted , . . 13 

In Convention 13 

Differs from Paris Basis 23 

Representation at Conventions 13, 16, 20, 21 

Adopted by State Committees .17 

Extended to Branches 16 

Extended to Foreign Associations ■ .16 

Alternate statement 22 

Pre-requisite to incorporation 17 

In Student Associations 20, 21 

Discussed 18 

Detroit Convention 13 

Portland Convention 14 

Washington Convention 19 

Why approved 23 

Morse, R. G, quoted 25 

Mott, J. R., quoted 26 

Experience of Y. W. C. A 23 

Executive Committee y6, 116 

Field Association 43 

Men and boys 46 

What not to do 44 

For individual 46 

Study of 47 

Finance Committee 117 

Foreign Work undertaken 35 

Test extended to 16 

General Secretary 70, 91, 1 14 

See Employed officer. 

Grand Rapids Resolutions 54 

Handbook, quoted 88 

International Committee. 

Organized, 1866 53 

Incorporated, 1883. 

Constitution of 54 

Membership of 54 

Province of 54 

Relation to local Association 54 

Organizes State Committee 57 



126 PRINCIPLES AND ORGANIZATION 

Report to Detroit Convention 13 

Report to Portland Convention 15 

Report to Washington Committee 18, 22 

King, H. C„ quoted 30 

Laws of New York, quoted 58 

Laws of New Jersey, quoted 108 

Lovell, Pres., quoted 33 

McBurney, R. R., quoted 108 

Messer, L. W., quoted 99 

Members of Association 80, in 

Constitution 112 

Active and associate 80 

Life 82 

Honorary 85 

How retained 84 

Handbook, quoted 88 

Recognition of others 85 

Methods 38 

Distinct from principles. 

Metropolitan plan 61 

Morse, R. C, quoted 25, 40 

Mott, J. R., quoted . 26 

New Jersey State Constitution, quoted 17 

New York conference, 1908 45 

Organization 53 

Officers of Association 67, 113 

Paris Basis, 1855 8 

Quoted 8, 11 

Origin of 8 

Meaning of 28 

Reaffirmed, Paris, 1905 10 

Differs from Evangelical Test .23 

Outline of studies 28 

Physical Director (see Employed Officer). 

Portland Convention 14 

Portland resolution. 

(See Evangelical Test). 

President of Association 68, 114 

Principles, distinct from Methods 7 

Provincial Committee 57 

Purpose of Association 7, 28 

In constitution. 

Recording Secretary 16, 114 

Relationships 54 

Report of Committee of Twenty-one 55 

Representation at convention 13, 16, 20, 21 



INDEX \2j 

Social club "differs from Association 33, 42 

State Committees: Relation to International Committee. . .56 
How elected 57 

Student Associations : 

Evangelical test 20 

Constitution of 21 

At Washington Convention 20 

Study field 47 

What to know 48 

Adopt a policy 50, 51 

Supervising agencies 53 

International Committee 53 

Grand Rapids Resolutions 54 

Secretary, general 70, 91, 114 

Recording 69, 114 

Shurtleff*, G. K., quoted 43, 94 

Life as secretary 94 

Sunday-school work in Associations 39 

Temptations of Jesus 34, 37, 47 

Theology in Association 29 

Vice-president 16, 114 

Young Men's Christian Association. 

What it is 38, 42, 44 

Local Association the unit 56 

Constitution 1 1 1 

Motive 28 

Aim of 28, 31, 32 

Voluntary 28 

Interdenominational 28 

Young men 29 

Differs from club 33 

Associated effort 34 

Religious 8, 34 

No entangling alliances 36, 45, 46 

Adapted to field 38 

Policy of 51 

Attitude towards men's movements 45 

First in London, 1844 8 

First in United States, 1851 8 

Young Women's Christian Association. 

Experience with Evangelical test 23 

State work of 58 



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